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Should We Ask Callers "Is Anyone Pinned (Trapped)?" During Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs)?

AEDR Editorial Team

Sep 26, 2020|Research Briefs

SHOULD WE ASK CALLERS "IS ANYONE PINNED (TRAPPED)?" DURING MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS (MVAs)? We should! The question directs callers to pay attention to what matters most. For a traffic collision, the higher the speed of the vehicle, the higher the chances an occupant suffers severe injuries. After a serious crash, the absorbed kinetic energy can cause the vehicle to deform significantly, displacing parts of the vehicle into the interior. This displacement frequently limits an occupant's ability to move or be removed. When there is need for extrication, deformity and damage hinder an occupant's...

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PSAP Leadership Perceptions of Quality: A Six-Dimensional Model

Steven C. Sharpe, EdD

Apr 09, 2019|AEDR 2019 Vol. 7 Issue 1|Original Research

Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) quality can have life-or-death implications. The quality of service provided by PSAPs is inconsistent due to the lack of mandatory standards of care at the national, state, and local levels. Public demands and duties placed on PSAPs have grown due to technological changes, civil cases alleging negligence, and the emergence of national recommended standards of care, yet governments at all levels have been slow to create governance structures to reinforce adherence to standards...

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The "Four-Second Rule" for Identifying the Active Silent 911 Caller

Heidi Kevoe-Feldman, PhD, C. Blair Sutherland

Apr 03, 2018|AEDR 2018 Vol. 6 Issue 1|Original Research

With advances in wireless technology, the volume of unintentional calls, or misdials, to 911 call centers has steadily increased over the past 10 years. While call centers have been working to manage call volume, there is very little systematic research on how to develop policy for handling Active Silent calls where callers may be unable to verbally communicate. The primary objective in this study was to first establish how dispatchers manage nuisance calls, and then provide a systematic way of determining how dispatchers can maximize their opportunities...

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Call Prioritization Times for Structure Fires in a Fire Priority Dispatch System

Jay Dornseif, Isabel Gardett, PhD, Greg Scott, MBA, EMD-QI, Corike Toxopeus, PhD, Robin Grassi, Angela VanDyke, Donald Robinson, Tami Wiggins, Lori Daubert, Mark Hutchison, Sharon Crook, Kevin Sipple, Lisa Kalmbach, Jeff J. Clawson, MD, Christopher Olola, PhD

Aug 01, 2016|AEDR 2016 Vol. 4 Issue 2|Original Research

While Structure Fire is not the most common Chief Complaint handled by Emergency Fire Dispatchers (EFDs), the high death toll and other serious consequences that result make structure fires one of the most important types of calls EFDs handle. The time needed to appropriately and effectively prioritize these calls can be evaluated using a time standard called Call Prioritization Time (CPT). In this study, we evaluate CPT for centers using the Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS). The primary objective in this study was to determine CPT for the FPDS...

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