A
AED
Automatic External Defibrillator. Have you ever seen doctors shocking their flatlining patients with paddles, yelling "CLEAR!" before each shock? That's called defibrillation. In most cases of cardiac arrest, the natural electrical impulses are erratic, which makes for a dangerously unreliable heartbeat, or "arrhythmia." The purpose of the defibrillation is to override these unreliable pulses and give the heart a chance to reset its natural rhythm. An AED is a portable kit that can be used in first aid by just about anyone, equipped to detect arrhythmias and automatically administer a shock for this purpose.
Alarm
Different calibers of disaster require different resources. One way responders have standardized these "levels" of severity between departments is by implementing a numeric "alarm" system. If I get a report of smoke or fire seen coming from a building, I dispatch the fire department to investigate. If they arrive on scene and determine that it's an actual fire, they'll tell us that by announcing "first alarm." There are designated protocols for each level of alarm, and it's my job to follow those protocols to request the right mutual aid responses from neighboring areas and ensure that there are enough of and the right types of resources for any incident.)
ALS vs. BLS
Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support, referring to the two primary "levels" of EMS. ALS typically is given its status as "advanced" due to the presence of a paramedic, where as the absence of one results in BLS-level response.
Any transport unit (classic boxy ambulances with room for a cot in the back) is made ALS by the presence of a paramedic on board.
There are also ALS units that are non-transporting, such as squad or support vehicles, "fly-cars," and directed medics, who may respond by intercepting a transporting BLS unit and pulling a Captain Phillips. Once they're on board, the response is upgraded to ALS.
APCO
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International. This is the organization through which many public safety agencies are certified, trained, developed, and maintained.
B
Black Cloud
Many emotionally taxing, high-stress jobs develop superstitions. While it is standard human behavior to assign meaning to or even pathologize the natural ebb and flow of life's chaos, fields such as medicine and public safety take it a step further with the assignment of the cloud labels. For its part, the reputation of the "black cloud" indicates a propensity for exceptionally busy shifts that appear to violate the standard deviation. To put it simply, a "black cloud" is somebody who seems to draw in chaos like a magnet. This individual can be contrasted to their antithesis, the "white cloud."
BOLO
Be On the Lookout. When a person or a vehicle is reported missing or if someone is a suspect in a crime, it's imperative they are located as quickly as possible. As a way to alert other departments of their need, an officer or dispatcher may give out a BOLO over a shared radio frequency or the system used to catalog missing persons or stolen vehicles. This will include a description, the last place they were seen, the direction they may be travelling, suspected destination, warnings about them, and any other pertinent information, as well as instructions, in the event they are located.
Brief
Used either as a noun ("in the brief, we were told...") or a verb ("brief the incoming officers about..."), this refers to a summarization of something. "Brief" is the name of the game: a briefing should be concise, containing only relevant information necessary to do one's job. Dispatchers, like officers, are expected to brief each other on the major events of a shift, especially anything likely to repeat or continue across shift change.
C
CAD
Computer-Aided Dispatch. This refers to the computer software that dispatchers and police use to track who is responding where, file and log calls, and interact with CJIS.
Casualty
During an event (car crash, disturbance-- anything that requires a call for service), "casualty" refers to any human who is physically harmed. Despite the common understanding of the word, in public safety and military vernacular, a "casualty" isn't restricted to just the dead, but the injured as well. Deaths are referred to instead as "fatalities," which are a type of casualty.
CERT
Community Emergency Response Team. (Not to be confused with the non-acronym "cert," which is short for "certification".) Under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), CERT teams help equip local communities with emergency response resources, with trained and vetted volunteers serving emergency response roles in their communities whenever the need arises.
CJIS
Criminal Justice Information Services. Have you ever seen on TV when a detective "looks into" somebody, or heard someone talking about "running" a license plate? All of that, as well as criminal background checks, fingerprint and DNA databases, stolen item registration, and missing person files are all made possible by FBI record management. Every interaction a person or vehicle has with law enforcement is tracked and logged in a database under CJIS.
Some of these include:
- CODIS - Combined DNA Index System
- IAFIS - Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
- NCIC - National Criminal Information Center
- NCMEC - National Center for Missing and Exploited children (also the fine folks behind those missing children posters you walk by at Walmart)
...and non-criminal databases, such as DMV/RMV records
CritiCall
A Dispatcher needs to be able to multitask, log information efficiently and accurately, problem solve, and make quick decisions under pressure. Agencies may require candidates interested in Dispatch to demonstrate aptitude before investing resources into taking on and training them. The CritiCall is a computer test that uses simulated emergencies and 9-1-1 calls to score candidates' aptitudes for the real life skills needed on the job, and is most new dispatchers' first step towards starting in a dispatch career.
E
EMD
Emergency Medical Dispatch. This is the qualifier that allows the 9-1-1 operator to give you certain types of medical instructions, from advising you not to eat or drink anything while waiting on EMS, to talking you through CPR or traumatic bleeding control. There are strict guidelines set in place by whoever accredits a PSAP: I'm still just a dispatcher following directions, not a doctor or a paramedic.
EMT
Emergency Medical Technician. These guys operate the ambulances. (It's a common misconception that every uniformed ambulance responder is a "paramedic" when actually, the majority are EMTs.) An EMT can deliver oxygen, give CPR, administer epinephrine (epi pen) for an allergic reaction or Narcan for an overdose, splint or damage a fracture, stabilize, and assess patients’ statuses to relay this information to doctors upon arrival to the hospital.
EMS
Emergency Medical Services. The umbrella term for all of the responders who attend to medical emergencies, such as EMTs, firefighters, and paramedics.
ESL
English as a Second Language. Refers to individuals who have learned or are currently learning English and whose mastery of the language is below what any given situation might require. For ESL or non-English speakers, dispatchers have to be able to navigate the language barrier in order to facilitate communication with anyone who calls 9-1-1. Both PSAPs I've worked for employ a language hotline, staffed by on-call interpreters who are able to bridge that gap for us. To use this resource, we conference in the hotline on an emergency call and then indicate the language needed.
F
FEMA
Federal Emergency Management Agency. Formally established in 1979, FEMA is a subset of the Department of Homeland Security and coordinates responses and works to prepare American communities, government bodies, and citizens for potential disasters.
H
Ham Radio
Amateur radio. The etymology perhaps dates back to the nineteenth century, possibly as a reference to the pejorative way that professional radio operators would mock amateurs as "ham-fisted." It might also be from the practice of calling somebody who is disruptive a "ham," as amateur stations in the early days of radio were often as powerful or more than professional stations, which led to many wartime operators growing frustrated with amateur signals jamming up their signals. Either way, HAM developed as both a hobby and a productive skill throughout the years. Today, the FCC requires a license to transmit over designated ham frequencies.
Hot vs. Cold Response
A high-priority call that necessitates a full lights-and-sirens treatment is called a "hot" call. A cold call, by comparison, is one that is not time-sensitive, and does not require a "hot response".
L
LEO
Law Enforcement Officer. Not limited to just local PDs, this nickname includes every officer, from town cops to Military Police, to FBI agents and the Secret Service.
M
MCI
Mass Casualty Incident. The criteria fluctuate depending on who you ask, but generally an MCI is any event that overwhelms a department's resources. Generally, the association is with major catastrophes, like acts of terrorism or large-scale building fires, but even a non-fatal car crash can technically constitute an MCI if there are more patients requiring transport than available ambulances. Remember that "casualties" are not necessarily the same as "fatalities."
Mechanism of Injury
In the medical field,mechanism of injury refers to the means by which an injury is sustained-- i.e. car crash, skateboarding accident, etc. The "mechanism" of the injury is an indicator of the likely severeity of the injury.
As an emergency medical dispatcher, I generally use the term a bit more specifically, and almost always in relationship to car accidents. The presence of a mechanism of injury causes an automatic EMS response, whether injuries are reported or not.
Some of these include:
- Airbag deployment
- Rollover (vehicle turns on its side or flips entirely)
- Entrapment (being unable to exit the vehicle)
- Smoke, fire, fumes, or spilled motor fluids
Miranda Rights
Every American has the Constitutional right laid out by the fifth amendment to refuse to answer questions that may be self-incriminating. In 1965, a man named Ernesto Arturo Miranda gave both verbal and written confessions to a crime for which he was a suspect, but the court found both inadmissible since Mr. Miranda had never been made aware of his rights under the fifth amendment. As a result of this case being thrown out, police are now required to advise an individual who is under arrest of these rights. Although a later case determined they do not have to be verbatim as long as they were effectively communicated prior to interrogation, most departments follow a script along the lines of:
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been explained to you?"
Mutual Aid
An agreement between agencies to share resources as necessary. No single area will necessarily be able to stock every necessary unit or resource they might need in the case of any individual situation, so communities make what we call "mutual aid agreements" with one another. It's exactly what it sounds like: when Town 1 has a fire, Town 2 sends them an engine as support. When Town 2 has a kid go missing in the woods, Town 1 might send them their K9 units.
MVA/MVC
Motor Vehicle Accident or Motor Vehicle Crash/Collision Any collision between a motor vehicle of any kind: mini-vans, semis, steam-rollers... well, maybe not steam rollers.
When giving it out over the radio, we explain the nature of the accident by stating: "(vehicle) vs. (thing it hit) with/without PI (personal injury)." For example, I once took a call from a guy who got hit by the local garbage collector: "Car vs. trash truck, no PI." A few hours later, right at shift change, my relief took the call for "car vs. Scooter Sam, unknown injuries."
(Scooter Sam, as his nickname suggests, is a local gentleman who, on nice days, rides up and down Main Street on an electric scooter, seeming oblivious to the traffic whizzing by him like bats out of hell. Or at least, he used to. Don't worry-- he was fine; only the scooter was badly damaged in the accident.)
N
NENA
National Emergency Number Association.Like APCO, NENA is an organization dedicated to public safety communications. Its primary focus is supporting 9-1-1 service by providing training and investing in technology to supplement dispatchers and PSAPs across the country.
P
Paramedic
Despite the common misconception that every medical professional who works on an ambulance is a paramedic, this is not true. Paramedics are more extensively trained, with all of the skills of an EMT and some additional capacities.
Paramedics can administer a wider variety of medications than EMTs. They're able to read an EKG to identify a potential heart attack, and they're experts in airway control. One way to establish an airway is to intubate, which means inserting a tube through a patient's mouth or nose. The other way is through performing a "crike" (cricothyrotomy), which is more invasive and requires an incision.
R
RapidSOS
You know how your Gran is always lecturing you about privacy, warning that your electronics are collecting data about you? Well, she's not wrong. There is a lot that can be legally collected, and many companies buy it up in order to use for advertising or other capitalistic purposes. One of the customers for such data is less nefarious, though: RapidSOS uses it to create a profile for each mobile number relays much of that information to emergency responders.
Since it's based in phone telematics (GPS mapping, speed tracking, and detection of movement and position), Rapid's mapping is more accurate and reliable than the 9-1-1 phone. Sometimes it's even able to attach the caller's name and home address to the call. If you've allowed for your medical card (programmable in your contact in your phone) to be shared with 9-1-1, we get access to that through Rapid as well, which I especially recommend if you have a medical condition such as epilepsy or diabetes where medical emergencies are of concern.
Run Out
To "run (something or someone) out" means to run a check through CJIS, NCIC, or the DMV/RMV records. For more on this, see article Routine Stop for a look into traffic stops as seen from behind the dispatch desk.
S
Silent Call Procedure
Though there is no standard between all PSAPs, many states have set procedures by which dispatchers can initiate alternate communication methods with callers who either can't or won't speak.
In my state, Silent Call Procedure starts whenever there is no verbal contact made with a 9-1-1 caller.
First I advise the caller: "If you need police, press 1. For fire, press 2. For EMS, press 3," and then I wait for a response.
If there is still no reply, I tell the caller, "Stand by while I test for TTY." I then use a button to send a TTY signal. I wait for 12 seconds for the "tweedling" sound that is standard on all TTY calls, in which time I use whatever location is mapping on my screen to start a police response.
If there is no verbal or TTY reply, I repeat the process, and then say for the recording: "No appropriate response; terminating call." I will then redial and try to make communication a second time.
SOP/SOG
Standard Operating Procedure/Guideline. SOPs are written directives that lay out the prescribed course of action given any scenario, while SOGs are written guidelines that do the same. SOGs are the standards we strive to, whereas SOPs are hard-and-fast rules set in order to live up to these standards.
For example, SOG states that all 9-1-1 calls are to be answered in under 10 seconds from the time they come in to the station. SOP states that dispatchers must remain within hearing range of the 9-1-1 phones for the duration of their shifts, unless somebody covers the desk while they step away.
Swatting
Accidental 9-1-1 calls happen all of the time. These won't get you in trouble-- we have better things to do than filing reports for butt-dial.
However.
Not all false 9-1-1 calls are "accidents." Sometimes, somebody calls contacts emergency agencies from a disguised line and reports a false emergency, often with the goal of drawing out a SWAT team-- which is why these criminal hoaxes have been dubbed "swatting." Since SWAT responses are only called for truly dangerous situations, swatters will report dangerous situations such as bombings, active assailants, hostage situations, or murders/suicides in progress. Responders often go into the event expecting violence, which puts everyone on scene at risk.
A swatter's goal is often to inflict physical or emotional harm on the victim, who will likely have no idea why emergency responders are suddenly showing up at their location and may behave in ways that make them appear to responders-- primed for violence-- as a threat. This puts not only the victim but also the responders at risk.
A rising number of these calls are being made to locations of internet streamers by audience members who wish to witness the response on the stream. Whatever the intent, swatting is a crime. Emergency responders are busy and often overworked. Having to respond to fake calls is not only a waste of our valuable time, but also takes us away from actual emergencies. Hoaxes can delay the response time for legitimate emergencies, which can be the difference between life and death.
T
Ten-Codes (10-Codes)
Up until about twenty years ago, most police (and many fire) radios used numeric codes (often starting with "10-", hence the name) to convey routine statements on the radio. It was believed that this would expedite transmissions by limiting unnecessary speech and unifying a department's language, as well as avoiding detection from would-be Nightcrawler radio savants.
Unfortunately, what was discovered was that 10-codes actually wasted more time than they saved. Amidst the responses to the attacks on September 11th, 2001, many departments and even individual precincts within New York City found that the 10-codes, which had adapted to fit the needs of their particular bourough and did not always remain standardized across duty lines, only dragged down the cooperation efforts and stymied responses further. As a result, most police agencies (especially on the East Coast, growing more common the closer to New York you get) phased out these codes in lieu of "plain language" policies.
Some 10-codes did make their way into common vernacular, however. "10-4," for example, is used by civilians and officers alike, both on the radio and off, to say, "Got it."
Tone Out
A "tone" is a sound put out over the radio that indicates an emergency. To "tone out" is to initiate a tone, which gets the attention of the responders whose radios may be turned down or muted, and then give out the information for a call. Some departments use different tones for different types of emergencies, while others just use one assigned to them to distinguish their calls for service from other neighboring agencies' calls.
TTY
Teletypewriter; a machine invented for deaf and hard of hearing communication, and also a grandparent technology to modern-day texting. Composed of a keyboard, a screen, and sometimes an attached telephone system, TTYs allowed for instant-messaging between equipped terminals. TTY signals come in as they are received, rather than messages being "sent" all at once like with IM, e-mail, or texting, so a shorthand similar to those seen in Morse code telegrams was developed, with "GA" ("go ahead") marking the end of a message, and "SK" ("stop keying") ending a conversation.
V
Volunteer
Not all towns have the infrastructure to support and maintain fully-staffed, 24/7 fire departments, so some towns have a "voluntary" systems. The number of dedicated on-duty responders depends on the town's policies as well as the time, day, and conditions, while the off-duty responders are on call in the meantime.
W
White Cloud
An equal and opposite force to the one acting upon the "black cloud" seems to follow the "white cloud," granting them extended or even permanent immunity to the stress of a shift laden with unexpected calamities. "White clouds" are the lucky (or unlucky, depending on your perspective) individuals who always seem to get the lightest days and are never on duty when really big calls come in.