HigherGround Customer, Minneapolis 911 Center, Wins National Call Center Award
The 911 center used HigherGround’s Capture-911 digital voice recording solution to record each of the incoming calls as well as the radio transmissions. “We did not lose one single recording, even with the increased volume we experienced."
Los Angeles, CA, May 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Minneapolis 911 center has been awarded the “2008 911 Outstanding Call Center Award,” a national award presented by the E9-1-1 Institute in Washington, D.C. The Minneapolis center was honored for its work during the collapse of the I-35W Bridge.
The Minneapolis 911 center was a key part of the emergency response to the bridge collapse. During the first two hours after the collapse, the center received 505 emergency calls, including 51 from the scene of the bridge collapse. Although this was three times the normal call volume, the 911 center was able to communicate seamlessly with emergency organizations from the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, responding with remarkable speed and professionalism.
When the bridge collapsed at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2007, there were 13 operators and dispatchers on duty in the 911 center. Following the collapse, many off-duty employees came back to work to help. As the emergency response unfolded at the bridge scene, the 911 center helped process 113,000 radio transmissions on the regional 800 MHz trunked radio system that connected emergency responders. Even though there were tens of thousands of transmissions, only one high-priority transmission received a busy signal in the first six hours of the incident.
The 911 center used HigherGround’s Capture-911 digital voice recording solution to record each of the incoming telephone calls as well as the radio transmissions. “We did not lose one single recording, even with the increased volume we experienced,” said Tom Donohoe, Assistant Director of the Emergency Communications Center. “Selected recordings are now being used to recreate the incident in our presentations at APCO & NENA conferences.”
“When you think of emergency responders, you often think of the police officer or the firefighter on the scene,” said City Council Member Don Samuels, who chairs the council’s Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee. “But our 911 center and staff are the invisible backbone of public safety. Our residents know that there’s one place they can always turn in an emergency, and that’s 911. Reliable service is easy to take for granted, and that’s why it’s rewarding to see our dependable 911 staff get the national recognition they deserve.”
“This is a real honor, to be recognized among the thousands of 911 centers around the country,” said John Dejung, director of the Minneapolis 911 center. “Our staff knows that the work they do matters every day. It’s rarely an easy job, but playing a key role in protecting the public, and even saving lives, is the reason our people take on the challenge. It’s humbling to be chosen for this significant award, but I also know our people deserve it for the remarkable work they do.”
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About Minneapolis 911 Center:
The Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (the full name of the 911 center) answers about 650,000 phone calls per year, helping anyone in Minneapolis get help with emergencies ranging from fires and police calls to medical problems. The center has a staff of 87 employees who take emergency calls around the clock, seven days a week.
For more information contact:
Matt Laible
612.673.2786
About HigherGround:
HigherGround, Inc. is a premier software developer of call recording, data collection and reporting tools for call centers and the public safety marketplace. The Capture-911 solution empowers clients with knowledge and insight to monitor and verify phone and radio transmissions, optimize communications resources, and provide a comprehensive view of organizational performance. More information regarding HigherGround can be obtained by visiting their web site at www.highergroundinc.com.
For more information contact:
Jake White
818.591.3133 x249
jwhite@highergroundinc.com
The Minneapolis 911 center was a key part of the emergency response to the bridge collapse. During the first two hours after the collapse, the center received 505 emergency calls, including 51 from the scene of the bridge collapse. Although this was three times the normal call volume, the 911 center was able to communicate seamlessly with emergency organizations from the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, responding with remarkable speed and professionalism.
When the bridge collapsed at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2007, there were 13 operators and dispatchers on duty in the 911 center. Following the collapse, many off-duty employees came back to work to help. As the emergency response unfolded at the bridge scene, the 911 center helped process 113,000 radio transmissions on the regional 800 MHz trunked radio system that connected emergency responders. Even though there were tens of thousands of transmissions, only one high-priority transmission received a busy signal in the first six hours of the incident.
The 911 center used HigherGround’s Capture-911 digital voice recording solution to record each of the incoming telephone calls as well as the radio transmissions. “We did not lose one single recording, even with the increased volume we experienced,” said Tom Donohoe, Assistant Director of the Emergency Communications Center. “Selected recordings are now being used to recreate the incident in our presentations at APCO & NENA conferences.”
“When you think of emergency responders, you often think of the police officer or the firefighter on the scene,” said City Council Member Don Samuels, who chairs the council’s Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee. “But our 911 center and staff are the invisible backbone of public safety. Our residents know that there’s one place they can always turn in an emergency, and that’s 911. Reliable service is easy to take for granted, and that’s why it’s rewarding to see our dependable 911 staff get the national recognition they deserve.”
“This is a real honor, to be recognized among the thousands of 911 centers around the country,” said John Dejung, director of the Minneapolis 911 center. “Our staff knows that the work they do matters every day. It’s rarely an easy job, but playing a key role in protecting the public, and even saving lives, is the reason our people take on the challenge. It’s humbling to be chosen for this significant award, but I also know our people deserve it for the remarkable work they do.”
###
About Minneapolis 911 Center:
The Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center (the full name of the 911 center) answers about 650,000 phone calls per year, helping anyone in Minneapolis get help with emergencies ranging from fires and police calls to medical problems. The center has a staff of 87 employees who take emergency calls around the clock, seven days a week.
For more information contact:
Matt Laible
612.673.2786
About HigherGround:
HigherGround, Inc. is a premier software developer of call recording, data collection and reporting tools for call centers and the public safety marketplace. The Capture-911 solution empowers clients with knowledge and insight to monitor and verify phone and radio transmissions, optimize communications resources, and provide a comprehensive view of organizational performance. More information regarding HigherGround can be obtained by visiting their web site at www.highergroundinc.com.
For more information contact:
Jake White
818.591.3133 x249
jwhite@highergroundinc.com
Contact
HigherGround, Inc.
Jake White
818-456-1600
www.highergroundinc.com
Jake White
818-456-1600
www.highergroundinc.com
Contact
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