https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Dispatch/Call-taking


It’s a crazy world inside a PSAP, because the world has gone mad

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 2nd July 2013
From man-made chemical hazards to diversion calls, 911 telecommunicators are challenged by high-risk, low-frequency incidents, according to panelists during a recent session at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C. Being prepared for such events is crucial to dealing with them successfully, the panelists said.

What is in this article?

  • It’s a crazy world inside a PSAP, because the world has gone mad
  • Diversion calls

It’s a crazy world inside a PSAP, because the world has gone mad

As if 911 telecommunicators didn’t have enough to worry about, now they have to concern themselves with bath salts, said panelists who discussed some of the unusual calls that public-safety answering points field, during the recent National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Charlotte, N.C.

The “bath salts” to which they referred are not the type that one pours into a tub after a long, hard day. Rather they are a family of designer drugs with street names like “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” and “Bliss,” according to the WebMD website. Similar to amphetamines, they are taken in a variety of ways—they can be snorted, injected or mixed with food and drink. They can cause the user to suffer hallucinations, paranoia, agitation, chest pains, high blood pressure, rapid pulse, seizures, headaches and suicidal thoughts.

In short, they are a nightmare for the unsuspecting 911 telecommunicator.

“This stuff promotes an extreme high for a short period of time,” said Doug Showalter, a dispatcher supervisor with the California Highway Patrol and an instructor for Redwood City, Calif.-based Public Safety Training Consultants. “I read an article not long ago that said [bath salts] are 65 times more powerful than the most powerful marijuana.”

Showalter told of one man who had taken a bath salt and then called 911—and the call-taker had absolutely no idea what the caller was talking about. Showalter played the recording from that call, and the man was just barely coherent.

“This dispatcher totally got frustrated … it took a really long time to get through to this guy, who clearly was out of his mind,” Showalter said.

Another type of emergency call that is becoming more prevalent concerns chemical suicides, which started in Japan but are now occurring with some regularity in the U.S. Typically it involves automobiles, but also can occur in bathrooms and apartments, with the victim mixing various easily obtainable chemicals to create a toxic gas. Regardless of where it occurs, it is a very dangerous situation for first responders.

“When you get one of these calls, you better know what to ask, because you need to tell your responders, because they can get hurt very fast by going up to these cars. … The cars are now a hazmat situation,” Showalter said.

There are numerous tell-tale signs of a chemical-suicide situation. A container—usually a bucket or a Styrofoam cooler—often is visible through the car windows. A foul odor reminiscent of rotten eggs or swamp gas is discernible. An unconscious or unresponsive victim also is a clue. So too is tape across vents and window openings.

Often, the victim, in a final act of conscience, will tape a warning sign on the window, but that doesn’t always help the 911 call-taker or the first responder, according to Showalter.

 “I read an article about a sheriff’s deputy who approached a car with tinted windows. There was a sign, but the chemicals had caused it to crinkle,” Showalter said. “Thinking someone was in there, he opened the door, took a big, deep breath and passed out right there. Thank God, he was okay—he came to shortly thereafter.”

1 | 2 |
Diversion calls
Tags: CAD Incident Command PSAP PSAP Telecommunicators Dispatch/Call-taking NENA Public Safety Training Article

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls
  • Newscan: FBI received over 100,000 pieces of digital evidence after Capitol attack
  • Intelsat to test 4G connections to iPhones from stratosphere

Commentary


Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

13th January 2021

In challenging year, working with public safety to move FirstNet forward

30th December 2020

Communications solutions must evolve quickly to meet needs of a changing world

31st October 2020
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: 📆 Mark Your Calendars: IWCE will be returning to Las Vegas this September and registration is slated to open in April 📆 Wa…

15th January 2021
UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: ⚡FLASH SALE: Don't miss this exclusive offer! Passes to #IBFVirtual are now 50% off with code TWITTER50. Take advantage of th…

6th November 2020
UrgentComm

Get ready for part 2 of "Ensuring Public Safety Emergency Communications" next week! @PCTEL_inc will explore… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

3rd November 2020
UrgentComm

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the world transform, and it's clear that cities will be affected in the long-t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th October 2020
UrgentComm

Florida state & local agencies subscribing to the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) will be able to co… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

Tune in to @slacorp CEO Josh Lober as he explains how the company has fully integrated its #PTT application to work… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

.@SierraWireless announced the commercial availability of the AirLink MG90 platform, which they tout as the first m… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

Attorneys for #Hytera and #MotorolaSolutions this week submitted final written arguments, apparently clearing a pat… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

22nd October 2020

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X