Lessons in Leadership: Deutsche Bank

It does not take someone long to realize from my stories that my FDNY career was full of crazy events.  Some funny, some tragic, a couple down right weird.  But perhaps none was so reflective of all of the lessons in one eight hour period as the fire that happened 11 years ago today. I have written about it before, so I will not belabor the details.

Today,  I would just like to offer some of the highlights.  I encourage you to think about people you know who exemplify these traits and those who you know who may not.  For those of you who may have to deal with ineffective leaders today, I do not think that this list will fix them. The only thing that can "fix" anyone is their internal decision to commit to doing better, learning, and adjusting how they practice their leadership and management skills. 

Till they do, and remember it is possible they never will, you must remember it is about you! Well, at least in the sense that our worst leaders sometimes help grow our best leaders.  Must like the burning down of a forest is necessary for a new generation to sprout there, sometimes those who illustrate how not to do things manage to inspire a single or whole group of new leaders to start a journey of mastery which will positively impact themselves and all those whom they encounter.  

So, in a way, we should always be thankful for the challenging souls we are led or supervised by for without them we might never be forged into the person we were created to be. 

In that spirit, here are a few items for your "great leaders" list: 

• How you perform on the slow day when things are not crazy will set the stage for how you will perform on your worst day.  You will never find a missing talent, only elevate an existing one to a higher gear. 

• If you are a supervisor, leader, dispatcher, director, etc. never ever stop learning.  Know your job frontwards and backwards, upwards and downwards.  Whenever you hear something you do not know about-- whether a policy, a unit, or a person-- ask who it is and what it does. Knowledge is power. 

• Never be afraid to make a bold decision based on your intuition and the information at hand. On that day, based on one phone call, we sent an entire first alarm assignment and special units (HazMat). Could we have gotten in trouble if we were wrong? Maybe. But we knew what the potential severity of the incident was and we acting accordingly and we were right. 

• Trust your people.  When it is hitting the fan you do not have time to check everyone's homework. As a supervisor, you need to develop the skills of those you work with to get to the point where you trust them to do their jobs.  If they cannot, that is on YOU,  not them.  This means taking the time to get to know them, establishing what your expectations are, and ensuring that every member of the team is on the same page! 

• If you are in-charge of the entire organization, make sure EVERYONE is on the same page.  From day one to day 10,000 every employee should know what success means-- what they are expected to do-- and how they are a VALUED  member of bigger team with an important mission. If you do not show them this by example-- if you do not ensure that they see their place on the team-- then you will always be at the mercy of your weakest performer and the team will as well.  You will not accomplish as much as you could and you will be left to wonder-- why? 

• Ask questions-- but know which ones to ask.  Questions are the key to understanding an incident or a person.  In a stressful situation, you need to MINIMIZE your instructions.  The more you bark and balk the more it stresses out those who are doing the work.  Take a step back and ask yourself, does what I want to say really need to be said right at this moment?  Maybe it can wait, maybe a hand gesture will do. Or maybe someone just needs you to make a joke or pat them on the back. Whatever works.  

• Sometimes the most important thing is HOW you say it. As a leader, you must be aware that if you yell or come off as a jerk you can undermine the entire operation.  So stop the yelling!  Also stop the interrupting and the ranting.  It serves no purpose on any day, much less when things are crazy. 

• Finally, realize that to lead people is a gift.  To be put in the position of looking out for them and the public and your organization is a great privilege. Not because of the massive paycheck (humor intended) or the great power (humor also intended) but because the higher power put you in a place where you will have an enormous impact on others. Whether that is a positive or negative impact is entirely up to you but at the same time, it is not about YOU. It is about them-- all of them.  You will make some mistakes, you will not be perfect. But if you always remember your first obligation is not to a spreadsheet or a stockholder but to the people who are going to get the work done-- then you will do a pretty decent job as a leader. 

I am sure there are more and I will share them someday in the not so distant future.  But to the (2) FDNY members we lost that day and the over 100 who were injured as well as the many FDNY Dispatchers who processed and transmitted alarms, maintained fire coverage, and proved yet again they are the best of the best, I say God Bless and Thank You for your dedication, your service, and the many ways you taught me and  the many more you still do. 

Lessons in Leadership: Memories of Sandy

I still know how I felt. If I close my eyes and hold the image in my mind the anger will boil from somewhere deep.  From an even deeper place will well the sadness and the frustration.   It will rise up and pool just behind my eyes and without knowing it I will clinch my fists.  Then I will sigh, shake my head, smile just a little, and breathe deeply with the sweet and bitter tingle of memory.  Strong.  Severe. But, as I look back now, just another stop on the gameboard. 

The superstorm had past. In its wake billions of dollars in damage, dozens of lives lost and a community crippled.  Not just any community—the largest city in the United States.  Among the damage left by that October storm—over twenty fire dispatchers with no homes—and over 80 fire dispatchers who had worked through the disaster, non-stop, for three days. These were my colleagues—my friends—my family. 

We asked to get help for them—physical and emotional.  PTSD was a “thing” then. When I mentioned it I was told I was not a psychiatrist. My pleas to go outside to help start the long process of physical recovery for those who lost their everything was met with a snotty look and a flicked wrist. “I survived 9/11 just fine, they do not need any help now.” 

I stormed back to my office, slammed the door and realized right then a few truths that have always stuck with me.  Just because someone is supposed to do the right thing does not mean they know how to. Just because someone is supposed to care does not mean they will.  Sometimes those whose job is to care for you will, at the worst possible time, fall into their personal cauldron of whatever makes them tick and you will be left to wander and wonder.  Alone. 

I do not think the terrible reactions of those in-charge meant they were bad people.  It just meant there was danger of their ignorance hurting something far bigger than themselves.  With their callous disregard for the wellbeing of the people they were supposed to serve, they risked finding ways to make a terrible disaster even worse. 

What happened next is important in my life story.  And maybe a day like it will be important in yours as well.  Perhaps it was emotional fatigue or exhaustion or the spirt of a higher power that took me over completely. Maybe a mix of all three. Whatever it was, I knew what I had to do, roadblocks be damned. There was a right and there was a wrong and I knew what side I wanted to be on.  I knew what side those whom I served wanted me to be on. 

I made the calls anyway. I sent the emails anyway.  Others stood up to and the help eventually arrived. Seven months later I replaced the first of the roadblocks, nineteen months later I replaced the other one.  Along the way I tried to show others the way things can and should be.  What it means to look out for those who need a little extra help every day and maybe a great deal of help on the worst days.

How the rest of the story unfolded is full of lessons about how to manage change, how to communicate, how to engage others in a mission to improve the world, or perhaps a small part of it.  Some of the times I succeeded, some of the times I failed.  Every time I learned.  But no matter what, I know that from that terrible morning after onward, my best days and hours have been when I remembered the feeling of knowing things can and should be better and when I accept my responsibility to make that “better” a reality.  And even more when I remember it is not about me—ever.  To serve is about others. First, foremost, always.  To lose sight of that in the field of public safety is to risk losing it all, and hurting people in the process.  Maybe without even knowing it. 

I hate to admit I know that you too will have a day like that.  Maybe it is the context of a personal event or maybe it is part of you facing something much larger.  Whatever it is, I pray that you find the strength and the passion to forge your anger into resolve and your frustration into progress.  We will all be better for it if you do. Especially those who depend on you to do nothing less. 

The Scariest Power of All

I have this friend. She is truly brilliant in her profession and, honestly, mostother endeavors she chooses to pursue. At least for a little while. The pattern is familiar. Extreme excitement at the “new thing”. Enthusiasm. Engagement. Sharing. And then, not very much longer—silence. No more shared stories of progress or how this great new thing is going to radically change everything. It is as though some meteor brilliantly sailed by, then passed into dust. In its wake is left the echo of the fleeting memory of something wonderful, now completely distant but unfortunately not totally forgotten. 

The oddest part is that this is not the way it is for everything. Her professional success is constant. And growing. But she never takes any credit for making it happen. Success at the job is an accident. She is only a willing bystander as she reaches number one in her company out of thousands. Red runs in her cheeks as she proclaims it has nothing to do with her. Ever.  Each new advancement is described as just another “happy accident.” 

It took me awhile to realize that, for her relationships are much the same way. They are a play in which she serves only as an extra. Whatever happened is largely due to the other person. If they decide to stay, or make the first move all the better.  If they never call, well then there will be no call. The end result is she lives in a constant place of remembrance.  As her mind, like everyone’s, glosses over the valleys and the peaks and transfigures the past into one gallery worthy painting.  But like so many great paintings, the truth is in the eye of the beholder and a distant eye can affix whatever truth it wishes to see in the brushstrokes or the memory of a love thought true. 

It took me longer to see the challenges of my friend more clearly in myself.  Realizing that the affliction of my friend is often an affliction for us all.  It was and is a reminder of just how terrified some people can be of the dreaded word:Accountability. If we never acknowledge that we have the power to be good, that is us who earned the promotion or lost the weight or held it together during a crisis, then we never have to admit it is us who pulled the lever on the slot machine, took the drug, or gained the weight. Once responsibility is absolved—then so is blame.  But so is power.  Power to make the same mistake—or power to make a better choice. 

I thought about that this morning as I was jogging around my hotel parking lot. Mid stride of my attempt to lose weight—again.  Every once in a while, I get a clear view of myself in a mirror and an argument ensues somewhere deep in my psyche. One voice saying: you lost it before and gained it back, why will this be any different—why bother?  The other voice saying: you know you can do this—just keep at it longer this time and it will become a habit and you CAN keep the weight off.  This morning I caught a glance of a young woman walking out of the hotel. In her hand a large coffee/milk/sugar concoction with probably 1000 calories or more.  In the same hand was a lit cigarette. Under her clothes was about 100 pounds of extra weight.  I instantly felt bad for her.  I had a view of her future—our current and future national health crisis propelled by millions of people making the same choices she did and slowly descending into a life of crisis that is part of a world of crisis. I could not help but connect the dots from my friend to this stranger and my own choices good and bad. Taking a chance on love—good. Taking a chance on some other things—well, not so good.  

But in the end, we have to acknowledge that the painting we paint is indeed our own.  We chose the colors—we make the strokes.  Some will be great, some not so much.  But the image is ours.  If we can do that, make that first great acceptance—then we open a door to a great many possibilities and the realization that we are not the victim of another person’s choices—but the byproduct of our own creation. Spider Man said: “with great power comes great responsibility”—but how many realize that the power belongs to everyone and so does the responsibility and, even more importantly: the possibility.  

More Thoughts on EMS

It really is not hard.  In fact, it comes down to match and data.  I realize that for many public safety leaders their biggest fear is to be labeled a "bean counter." Chastised as no longer one of the boys, but rather a faceless bureaucrat who cares only about dollar signs and spreadsheets. 

Avoiding for now the debate about the egos and self-esteem issues of those who serve in leadership roles in Public Safety, the reality remains that we must get smarter about how we deliver EMS services.  This is especially true for those agencies who run fire based ALS EMS.  Many of them, across the country, are experiencing rising workloads, lowering employee morale, and the reality that what they are doing is simply not sustainable. 

A "bean counter" who concerns himself or herself with the paychecks, time off requests, and pension paperwork is actually a friend of all in the organization, no matter what bathroom stall walls or their modern equivalent of social media posts may say.  That is also true of Leaders who take the time to actually crunch the numbers to determine how best to serve the needs of their community. The foundation of that action is the same, no matter what sized community we are talking about: 

1) Plan for the call volume you have and will have over the next five years.  Is it growing? Then you need to start figuring out where to find additional resources YESTERDAY.  The budget process is slow, the $$ can be hard to find, and politicians love to get credit for reigning in the free-spending ways of public safety chiefs. (But hell fire on the department if you are late responding to the City Council President's heart attack... but I digress).  Having good data about your run volume is essential to move to the next step. 

2) Plan for the resources you really need.  What is your percentage of ALS calls versus BLS?  What is your average response time?  What density of ALS coverage do you need to ensure an (8) minute response time most of the time? Do you need to explore ALS service on Fire Suppression Apparatus to meet response time goals?  Thankfully, there are any number of ways to get this data. Starting with the IAFF that runs a data shop to help fire departments make better decisions.  You can also buy software or even get a consultant.  This really is not rocket science. One very important tool to consider are peak time ambulances, especially in areas where demand fluctuates over time.  If you do half the calls at 2am as you do at 2pm, then having the exact same number of ambulances on the street during both times is not a very effective way to do things.  Keep in mind, that is DIFFERENT than fire suppression apparatus.  A fire needs the same number of people 24/7/365, and the standard for arrival time and activities is also the same.  For EMS however, nighttime buys you reduced driving times (less traffic); less demand; and the ability to mix up or rotate staffing. 

3) Practice resource management.  Look for anyway to SAFELY reduce assignments.  Especially if you are already stretched thin, using what you have more effectively may just be the way to go. It may also buy you just enough time until you can convince the city to staff another ambulance or build some needed stations.   And remember, just because a unit is responding to one call does not mean it cannot be diverted to another.  If your one ambulance is going to an ill person and is about to drive by a heart attack and you do not have a system in place that gets that ambulance diverted to the higher priority call, then just like Lucy, You have some explaining to do! Likewise, during periods of extreme demand, such as storms, your department MUST have a resource management plan to put in place automatically, or you will have extremely bad outcomes in a very rapid amount of time. 

4) Finally, use the 9-1-1 system to get data on the calls as they are happening.  The use of EMD allows you to prioritize what you are responding to.  This is an essential part of meeting the demands of the public more effectively and managing your resources. 

Together, we can all play a role in meeting the challenge of EMS delivery and not bankrupting our departments and communities.  This is the challenge of the leader and the bean counter and it is one we must meet. 

Managing EMS Assists: A New Approach?

In my hometown of Columbus, the Fire Division utilizes Engine Companies to "chase" or first-respond for ambulances hundreds of times a day.  It was not always this way here, or in many other cities across the United States which have adopted similar approaches. Some claim this is the best use of their taxpayer dollars and others claim that it "gets the engines involved in EMS." Most can offer no effective rationale for the policy at all.  

This is especially problematic in a City where the response times are extended and the Engines are ALS. Dispatching both resources from the same station to the same call is a risky proposition.  The policy ensures that the response times for the second incident in that neighborhood will either be extended and/or "outsourced" to another department on Mutual Aid. It also wears out the apparatus faster-- as well as the firefighters who are on the rig. 

We must work smarter if we are going to ensure the public safety of our community and the effective use of taxpayer dollars. Here is just one possible idea of an approach that could work here in Columbus.  

Each CFD station is assigned a Pick-Up truck vehicle for random errands and tasks that do not require a fire apparatus-- such as inspections, hydrant duties, etc.  I would propose that Columbus implement an EMS pilot program with the (8) busiest stations which have an Engine and Ladder Company housed together. In these stations, both the engine and ladder would start the day with (4) personnel each instead of (3).  The 4th person from the Engine and the 4th from the Ladder would be assigned to the Station Truck to handle EMS assist runs; CO detectors; Lift Assists, medical alarms, and other minor emergency calls from 8am to 8pm each day. 

For the first three months, this unit would be "on the air" for the entire period-- monitoring the dispatch channel for runs where they can go in-place of a standard fire apparatus.  For the second three months, the unit would be created in CAD and assigned to incidents based on the results of the initial phase. 

At 8pm, this Station Truck would go out of service and the personnel would return to the Engine and Ladder Company to meet the mandated staffing of  (4) Firefighters on each company at night. 

This program would involve some expenses. Outfitting the Station Trucks with additional warning devices, caps or other storage compartments for the EMS gear, and other relevant tools may cost up to $25,000 per vehicle.  However, for the expenditure of $200,000 the City would benefit from: reduced wear and tear on apparatus; decreased response times; decreased effective force arrival time at fires; potentially improved EMS outcomes; potentially improved morale; and a host of other factors. 

With the continued increase in EMS call volumes seen by fire departments across the country and the ever increasing cost of fire apparatus and the related physical and mental strain on fire/ems professionals, the time has come to start thinking creatively about how to deliver EMS in the most effective manner possible.  This was one suggestion.  I encourage you and your community to come up with others. 

I was wrong. 9-1-1 Can and Should Play a role in Improving the relationships between Minority Communities and Law Enforcement

I have been asked several times recently about 9-1-1 and Racial tensions in America. The question has generally been: does 9-1-1 have role to play in addressing this problem?  My first answer was no. After all, 9-1-1 has to take things at face value, right? How can a call-taker decide if someone reporting an incident is exhibiting signs of bias? We are just…. Dispatchers.  

Anyone who knows me well knows the reaction I normally have when someone speaks that phrase.  To realize I fell back on it when discussing with this issue was for me to realize I too have my own biases.  After all, I am the same person who seethes when otherwise respectable acquaintances share memes on Facebook equating kneeling football players with the anti-Christ for daring to bring attention to the relationships between law enforcement community and minorities and the fact that our system of laws and justice too often mean different things to people of color. I have often forced myself to hold back from rage typing   a scathing response about the person’s obvious lack of empathy or understanding. 

Let me be clear here. The statistics surrounding the number of fatal or serious interactions between law enforcement and minorities could be described as painting a picture that the problem is not severe or widespread.  Social media does play a role in exacerbating the events that occur.  But one person’s “isolated event” is another person’s daily life.  There is no “acceptable loss” on this matter—or reasonable number of communities where it is okay for citizens and law enforcement to see each other as the aggressor, the enemy, or a threat before any event or situation even happens. If our nation has even one community where its members feel delegitimized by those sworn to serve them—it is a problem. If there is even one community where law enforcement feels as though it is constantly a target—even when just taking a meal break or sitting in a patrol car—then it is a serious problem. In our you versus me echo chamber of today it is possible for there to me multiple sides to one major problem—but we can never hope to solve that overriding problem if we never see our role in solving it. In some way, that was the very mistake I was making. 

But once we acknowledge that reality that the relationship between African American and Hispanic communities and law enforcement is it should be and that law enforcement should be one of our greatest community assets, then we ca start to make progress.  Race is a factor in too many places for this to ever be dismissed as a trivial concern. Just because it does not impact everyone does not mean it is not real or important. The well documented cases of minorities stopped, frisked, arrested and yes, even killed, raises serious questions about implicit bias, public safety training, mindset, and more.  That some communities seem to have far less problems in this area than others only demonstrates the need for a serious national conversation.  As a nation we need to talk about this—how to solve it—and then how to move forward and beyond into a reality where “driving while black” is not something that can result in a person being stopped, arrested, or worse. And the same applies to the assassination of law enforcement personnel—what kind of nation are we when this occurs even once. Much less in multiple cities across the country. 

This is also one of the best examples of where people who don’t understand why this is an issue need to take some time to learn about why it is an issue. Put yourself in the shoes of those affected.  Think what it might be like, just for one day, to live in a world where this is a real problem—and you are its victim. 

I return to the subject of 9-1-1 and the issue of implicit bias and my own lack of vision. 9-1-1 professionals make decisions about what are real emergencies and not every single day.  Not every car accident requires an EMS response—not every call for a ringing alarm gets a fire engine—and not every call for a person with a warrant results in the person being arrested and transported to the agency where they are wanted. These and so many more examples reflect the complex world which 9-1-1 dispatchers work in.  It is common place to ask additional questions—to try and find out what is really going on—and to provide the best possible information to the responders to ensure they know what they are going into.  

It is time for the 9-1-1 profession, law enforcement, and community groups to come together to identify how we may reduce the dangers associated with calls to 9-1-1 that are not really emergencies but rather cases of people being “suspicious” of someone merely for their skin color.  This is not far removed from what we already do thousands of times a day in 9-1-1 centers all across the country.  We get a little more information to help ensure a safe and effective response.  Public Education is also an important piece.  We already work to eliminate needless calls to 9-1-1 about many types of nuisance items and non-emergency issues, why shouldn’t we also educate our communities about the danger of using 9-1-1 as even a subconscious tool for bias—and the catastrophic consequences that can result. 

Just like many other challenges we face today, there is no single solution for improving relationships between the law enforcement community and minorities. But as one part of what should be a much bigger, more complex effort, 9-1-1 should be at the table, sharing in the discussion, and realizing the role of 9-1-1 professionals in being a part of the solution.  

One Room Schoolhouses and 9-1-1: A Shared Past & Future?

When you drive through rural parts of Ohio there are many symbols of the way things used to be. One of the most idyllic are the one room schoolhouses.  As with many cultural “good-old-days” touchstones, we have a picture in our mind of what these places were like.  All of the children from the community sharing an education. A blackboard.  Maybe those old small desks. One teacher, likely female and not much older than the students, providing a guiding and enlightening voice to the well behaved, mannerly, and i-phone-less generations. Truth be told, my family even has a bell and chair from the one-room school house where my grandfather briefly served as a teacher.  The building still stands on a serene country road near Otway, Ohio. 

Today, in the 9-1-1 community, we have our own versions of one-room schoolhouses.  They are places where, for many reasons, communities continue to support Public Safety Answering Points that are the modern equivalent of a Laura Ingalls Wilder novella. Where the reasons for maintaining the status quo are just as quaint, but also troubling. 

I have nothing against the work done in these small centers. I started out in one. Working, by myself, as a Fire-EMS Dispatcher in Central Ohio.  I loved it. It taught me how to do my job.  Skills such as creativity, prioritization, and improvisation were essential.  But I can also say, without any doubt now, that the risk was far greater than the reward. 

The time has come to acknowledge that to provide the best possible service to the public, we must have a serious conversation about what is the “right-size” for a 9-1-1 center. The challenges are operational, technical, and human. If the profession of 9-1-1 is to continue, if the service people expect of 9-1-1 is to continue, if we are to leverage all of the technical benefits of a modernized public safety communications environment, then the time is now to have the hard conversations and develop the plans regarding what size a 9-1-1 center should be? 

The operational challenges of small (3 person or less) 9-1-1 centers are readily apparent.  When these centers experience an overload situation, it is very difficult for them to process all of the calls and provide services such as Emergency Medical Dispatch, Tactical/Incident Dispatch, or to support a full-fledged Supervisor on the Dispatch Floor.  This may be true even during normal operations. If the same person is expected to answer the phone and talk on the radio—someone will be forced to wait.  That will either be the caller or the field responder. Or perhaps both. And if they are in a life-threatening situation, waiting could be disastrous. 

There are technical solutions to this.  We have the ability to route calls to other centers if a primary 9-1-1 destination is busy. We are getting better at getting the calls dispatched, which is an order of magnitude more challenging than answering a phone.  However, the complexity of a multi-point dispatch system adds a great deal of potential failure points to a life critical system, something that we should avoid at all costs.  Moreover, when you involve multiple agencies, you have to have common procedures, common terminology, and consistent service.  This adds more complexity.  To go one step further, there is a cost involved in  technology and which allows agencies to more effectively share information and calls. The more physical locations that you have connected, the more cost.  So, if you have to have everyone sharing a system—and they have to have the same policies and procedures—then are they really separate anymore anyway? 

The last element is the human characteristics of our smaller PSAPs and those that lead them.  Sadly, there are more than a few which exist only to further the ego of the person in-charge.  They have long lost their operational necessity but remain because “that’s the way we have always done it” or “we want to keep local control.”  The reality is this.  An ineffective PSAP that cannot support even a moderately busy period has already lost control.  It is dependent on luck—on the help of neighbors—and of the skill of its personnel for success.  It has not created an environment that minimizes risk. In fact, it is creating risk every day for both its citizens and its field responders.  At what cost shall come the furtherance of tradition or the fallacy of control? 

Even more importantly, undersized organizations also contribute to a bigger challenge—how to ensure that professional 9-1-1 personnel remain in the profession and see it as a career.  Job Enrichment is a very important element of any successful organization. If you keep people doing the exact same thing for months, years, or decades their skills will actually deteriorate.  They will become set in their ways, resistant to change, and lose the desire to improve themselves.  The US Military learned this long ago—there are no thirty-year privates.  The goal is to advance in your proficiency, ability, and responsibility. A 9-1-1 organization that is overly small, by its nature, lacks the opportunities for people to grow in their organization.  They are forced to look elsewhere if they want to promote, or even change job duties.  At a minimum, 9-1-1 centers should be sized to support multiple career levels—from starting as a call-taker, to being a fully certified dispatcher, trainer, supervisor, and so on.  If someone wants to remain at one level, much like a police officer, that opportunity can be provided, but personnel should have the chance to grow in their organization. This is good for them and for the community and for a field that is experiencing a nearly constant staffing crisis. 

In short, the time has come. For many reasons, we need to discuss what the best minimum size of a 9-1-1 center is and work together towards creating those types of organizations.  Keep in mind, there is a maximum as well.  It may be technically possible for an entire state to have one 9-1-1 call-taking and dispatch facility, but that may equally problematic. Physical and operational redundancy, commuting distances, span-of-control, and many other factors may determine the upper end of the equation.  There is also still a need for 9-1-1 professionals to understand the geography of the communities they serve.  Perhaps not at quite the same level as 50 years ago, but through a combination of training, technology, and awareness, 9-1-1 professionals are better at their jobs when they have a decent (or better) knowledge of geography. Relationships between 9-1-1 personnel, their community, and field responders are also underappreciated and sometimes forgotten. None-the-less, those are issues which can be solved much more easily than a single person or even two people trying to do all the work entailed in a modern Public Safety Communications Environment.  God Bless them for trying—and they are doing amazing work all over this country every day. But we owe it to them and the communities they serve to find ways to do better—to reduce liability, improve service, and modernize our technology.  The boarded up one room school houses show that there is a better way, let us ring the bell of the future and of improved public safety and usher in a new era of Public Safety Communications.