Tools for Public Safety Answering Points

As we come to the end of September, National Preparedness Month, I'd like to highlight two tools that Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) – America's 911 operations centers – can use: one to alert their communities, and the other to alert the Federal Communications Commission to local public safety communications issues. These tools -- emergency alerts and the FCC's new Public Safety Support Center -- can help public safety communicators carry out their lifesaving missions.

There is an effective tool already available that local public safety officials can use for alerting. The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is an integrated gateway through which authorized public safety entities, including PSAPs, can initiate alerts. The second important tool is a new one created to specifically accelerate issue spotting with the 911 system itself. To ensure that PSAPs and other public safety organizations have an efficient way to request support and information from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, we have launched the Public Safety Support Center. I hope that PSAPs and other public safety stakeholders will consider using these resources and provide us with feedback as we continue to work together to improve community emergency response.