Kristin McKinney

Whenever there is a discussion of Kari’s Law, there is usually a mention of the Ray Baum’s Act. This act talks about FCC requirements for a variety of organizations and buildings that utilize multi-line telephone systems, like those found in businesses, hospitals, and schools. Ray Baum’s is named for the lawyer Ray Baum, who served

If you took a road trip across the state tomorrow, you would expect 911 to be available should you encounter an emergency at any point. Whether you’re in Austin, El Paso, or deep inside the Hill Country, you know that those three digits will be there for you no matter what, but that wasn’t always

The emergency number field is diverse and offers a lot of opportunities to those who find their calling in it, but how does someone become a 911 dispatcher or call taker? At the end of January, the NCT911 training program launched its first ever virtual/in-person hybrid Regional Telecommunicator Academy, which trains brand new 911 dispatchers

Ask any 911 call taker the one thing they wish their citizens understood and you’ll get a few similar answers: they don’t always have your exact location, answering their questions doesn’t slow down the response, and never hang up on them. Even if you accidently dial 911! The reason why you shouldn’t hang up is

9-1-1 is there to help during an emergency, but there are plenty of emergency apps, tools, and accessories that can help your local agency. Of course, the best way to reach 9-1-1 is still a voice call (followed by a text message if it’s available in your area), but using one of these resources can

A lot of things have changed in 2020 and though we never thought we’d go into Halloween concerned about masks (at least, not the kind of masks we usually associate with Halloween!) and social distancing, we’ve found ourselves wondering how to stay safe this Halloween. Luckily, most of the precautionary measures we’re already taking can

In 2018, President Trump signed the national Suicide Hotline Improvement Act into law. The purpose of the act was to research and identify if the creation of a 3-digit number for the National Suicidal Prevention Lifeline would be worth the time, effort, and cost. In August of 2019, the FCC released their findings in a