Bucks County 911

Today, is the first day of Hanukkah. To everyone celebrating Happy Hanukkah!

Hermey is on a road trip with the 911 Director this week. Today, we visited the hard-working team at Montgomery County Department of Public Safety. They were very welcoming and appreciated Hermey’s inspection skills – lights and ornaments on four trees all checked in less than 2 minutes. Those elves move fast. Tomorrow, Hermey will be heading to Harrisburg to visit some very special people. More to come.

Hermey was helping to keep our officers safe on police zone 6 today.

Hermey accompanied the incident dispatch team (IDT) to the Perkasie tree lighting on Saturday, December 2nd. The team was there to support public safety for the thousands that gathered for this event. Before Santa arrived to turn on the lights, Hermey conducted a thorough quality control inspection of all lights and wiring on the tree in just under 3 minutes. Not bad time for an elf. Although he did have some issues with his radio inspection.

In November, our Emergency Communications Center received a total of 60,639 calls. Of those calls, 17,283 were 9 1 1 calls. We processed 42,325 Police incidents, 1,909 Fire incidents, and 5,575 EMS incidents. We also handed 44 text-to-9 1 1 calls.

Today, we welcomed Elf Hermey to our Communications Center and we are going to keep up with his antics this month! 🎄🎁🎅🏻

Ready to join our team? An Emergency Communications Dispatcher is a trained professional who specializes in facilitating communications between the public and the first responder community in emergency and non-emergency situations. Follow the link below to learn more: https://buckscounty.gov/Jobs.aspx

Are you a driven college student interested in interning with us? We have an amazing opportunity for you! Interact with our 9-1-1 department personnel, the first responder community including law enforcement, EMS, fire, and auxiliary county agencies.

Apply here: https://www.buckscounty.gov/Jobs.aspx?UniqueId=101&From=All&CommunityJobs=False&JobID=Emergency-Communications-Intern-398

❗Coming Soon❗

Our Dispatcher Trainee position will be posted on the county website this Friday. Stay tuned for our posting about the position!

Our new class of trainees has completed over 4 weeks of classroom training. Recently they have completed their list of certifications which include Federal Incident Command Courses, CPR, Hazmat Recognition, and Identification. They have also completed their second national certification - EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatch), which trains them to provide medical instructions over the phone to callers who require an ambulance. They continue to build their CAD (computer-aided dispatch) skills by practicing call entry for Police, Fire, and EMS. Currently, they are going through simulations, and putting everything they have learned together in order to prepare for real emergency calls. The effort they are putting in at home and during class is really showing. More to come next week on our 6 star students.

🔥 Tip: Ensure a secure kitchen space by moving flammable items—such as dishtowels, bags, boxes, paper, and curtains—away from the stove. Let's cook up joy without the risk! 🚒🦃

🍳 Here's a helpful Tip: Dodge kitchen mishaps by turning pot handles towards the back of the stove. Keep the cooking magic going without any unexpected spills! 🚫🔥

🔥 In case of an oven fire, play it safe this holiday season! Shut it down and keep the oven door closed until it cools. Your well-being is the top priority. 🚨👩‍🍳
For more info, visit: https://www.ready.gov/

As people enter our center, they will see a wall adorned with a plaque for each of our dispatchers. The wall was created to recognize our dispatchers for the amazing job they do every day as a vital part of our team. The dispatchers are the foundation of our department. Their strength, knowledge, and determination are what keep our center going as we strive to make a positive difference for all of those who need us.

Happy National GIS Day!

GIS plays an important role in 911. GIS assists dispatchers to locate callers seeking emergency help, and ensures the right emergency responders are dispatched efficiently and quickly.

DJ is our GIS Technician and Matt is our Geo-Database Coordinator here at 911. Together, they manage and maintain geographic data for emergency services throughout Bucks County; and strive to ensure every home and business in included in the comprehensive response zones for all police, EMS, and fire agencies in the county.

Currently, our team is working on transitioning from an antiquated Enhanced 911 (E911) system to Next Generation 911 (NG911), which improves public emergency communications with the growing number of wireless phones, and other emerging modes of communication such as video, text, and detection systems. Their work also includes updating GIS data such as address points, road names, and response zones.

GIS is more than just maps. GIS is part of the everchanging technological age that stores a large amount of information about structures, roads, and other geography within the points, lines, and layers comprised on the digital map. The hard work of GIS experts allows the public and first responder community to navigate through an unfamiliar town or city, run analytics on traffic flow, and make informed decisions on items such as construction and developing emergency notification boundaries.

Our new class of trainees began Monday 10/21/2023. We have 6 new hires. In the first few weeks of training our students worked on becoming familiar with our SOPs. They also were introduced to our CAD (computer-aided dispatch) system. The students began committing to memory and improving their knowledge of specific Bucks County geography information including municipalities and road names. They also worked on obtaining their first certification as dispatchers through an internationally recognized program. They have continued to build their skills on location verification using our computer system. The students are learning the complaint types used for classifying and prioritizing police incidents. All 6 students are working very hard in and out of class striving for excellence. Pleases look for our next new hire class updates in the coming weeks.

Pennsylvania NENA - Pennsylvania NENA Keystone State NENA, mailing address PO Box 369 Manheim, PA 17545-0369. For emergencies dial 911. Keystone State (Pennsylvania) Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association Conference Keystone State NENA is part of the FireCompanies.com network of fire departments.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served or are serving our country.

In the Emergency Communications Center, we honor those who work with us and have served in the Air Force, Army, and National Guard.

Thank you for your service.

🔥 Get ready for fall and the "fall back" time change with some essential fire safety advice from Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook! 🍁

⚠️ Remember, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are life-saving equipment that need regular maintenance. They provide early warnings to keep your family safe. Test them monthly and change the batteries often.

🕒 Did you know you might have as little as two minutes to escape a fire once the alarm sounds? So, fresh batteries are crucial!

🚫 Dead or missing batteries are the main reason for alarm malfunctions. Functional smoke alarms can reduce the risk of home fire fatalities by 50%.

🌫️ Carbon monoxide is silent but deadly. It can incapacitate without warning. Ensure your home is equipped with detectors and follow these safety tips:

✅ Install alarms in every sleeping room and on every level.
✅ Interconnected alarms ensure that when one sounds, they all do.
✅ Test your alarms monthly.
✅ Proper placement is vital—keep them away from the kitchen.
✅ Special alarms are available for the hard-of-hearing or deaf.

🔋 While newer models have long-lasting batteries, older ones still require regular battery replacements. Stay safe and stay informed with additional fire safety tips at www.osfc.pa.gov. Bucks County Fire Marshal's Office

In June of 2021, a serious car accident in Nockamixon Township nearly claimed the life of the driver. But the quick actions of the first responder community resulted in a life saved, and the driver eventually walked out of the hospital following a miraculous recovery. The St. Luke’s Trauma Network honored the efforts of the first responder community including our 911 team. We celebrate this life saved and are honored to partner with the Bucks County first responder community every day.

St. Luke's University Health Network

In October, our Emergency Communications Center received a total of 64,107 calls. Of those calls, 18,344 were 9 1 1 calls. We processed 45,271 Police incidents, 1,942 Fire incidents, and 5,708 EMS incidents. We also handed 43 text-to-9 1 1 calls.

Recognizing our valuable team members who celebrated a work anniversary in October.

#646 Jeff 24 years
#733 Sobeia 20 years
#915 Anthony 3 years
#916 Alyssa 3 years
#917 Nolan 3 years
#918 Chris 3 years
#943 Cassondra 1 year
#944 Ryan 1 year

Halloween is a time for fun and candy. Here are a few tips for being safe tonight!

🎃 Walk with your children.
👻 Always look left, right, and left before crossing the street.
🍬 Always walk on sidewalks or paths. If there is none walk facing traffic as far left as possible.
🕷️ Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights.
🔮 Slow down and be alert.
🍫 Do not eat any candy until it's been inspected at home.
🕸️ Do not eat open candy, throw it out!
🕯️ Set a curfew.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treating came early this year to the 911 Center and emergency services facility. We hosted employees' families to enjoy a night of fun and candy. 🍬 Have a safe and fun Halloween! 🎃

Help us welcome Dispatcher Trainee Class 2023-4 to Bucks County Emergency Communications. Over the next four months, this class will be training and becoming certified to take on the career of a 911 call taker and police dispatcher. Throughout their training, they will be taking on multiple skill sets to gain knowledge and fundamentals to succeed. We are very excited to have them as a part of our team!

FYI alert ⚠️ 📢 Wednesday, Oct. 4

Emergency Alert Warning: You'll Be Getting These Messages on Your Phone and TV in October Prepare yourself for the emergency messages that will flash up on Oct. 4.

🚨 LAST CALL 🚨

Dispatcher Trainee Position closes this Friday at 2 PM.

📞 Become a professional emergency communicator
📞 Save lives and make a difference
📞 No experience required
📞 Paid training
📞 Great benefits
📞 Pension after 5 years vested

Follow the link below to complete and submit your application!

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Dispatcher Trainee - PD COUNTY OF BUCKS JOB TITLE: Dispatcher Trainee JOB CODE: 405 DEPARTMENT: Emergency Communications UNION: 00 FLSA STATUS: ...

Our Professional Development team is in front of Barnes & Noble store until 2 pm today to answer any questions you might have about the hiring process! Stop by and say hi 👋

Some of our Leadership team took a trip to the Keystone State Chapter of NENA conference this week! Our Bucks County 911 director served as this year's President/host.
We got to hear about 911 legislation, GIS technology, AI, and so much more!
The vendors/sponsors provided some fun yard games along with delicious food and drink! Until next year! Thanks for having us!

We are hiring for Dispatcher Trainees!

**Deadline to apply** Friday, September 22 at 2:00 PM

See the link below for more information

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

https://www.buckscounty.gov/Jobs.aspx?UniqueId=101&From=All&CommunityJobs=False&JobID=Dispatcher-Trainee-PD-38

We remember.