Asnuntuck Community College Launches Public Safety Dispatch Program
With Connecticut Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP’s) and other public safety dispatch centers throughout the state frustrated in their efforts to recruit and retain public safety telecommunicator candidates, Asnuntuck Community College (ACC) has launched the Public Safety Dispatch & Continuing Dispatch Education (PSD & CDE) Program to ultimately yield a large pool of professionals in Connecticut with expertise in this area of public safety telecommunications.
With the suggestion of the Connecticut Division of Statewide Emergency Telecommunications, ACC is also launching statewide Continuing Dispatch Education classes starting in September 2014 for public safety telecommunicators in the Connecticut.
The Public Safety Dispatch (PSD) portion of the program is a 112 hour course for public safety telecommunicators that want to further their knowledge and education in public safety communications along with individuals seeking to become public safety telecommunicators.
All students complete the course in 14 weeks. Upon completion of the course students receive these certificates:
1. APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator
2. APCO Fire Service Communications
3. ICS 100 (Incident Command Systems)
4. NIMS 700 (National Incident Management System)
5. Haz-Mat Awareness
6. Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism Awareness for Emergency Responders
7. Telematics Public Safety Training
8. Asnuntuck Community College Public Safety Dispatch Certificate of Completion
The Continuing Dispatch Education (CDE) portion of the program consist of 4 to 8 hour one day classes on specific topics to assist public safety telecommunicators gain a higher understanding of a specific type of call or as a refresher for calls they may not take frequently. ACC is starting off with four classes:
- Suicide Calls
- Crimes in Progress
- Stress Management in 9-1-1
- Autism Calls & Callers
ACC’s PSD & CDE Program is overseen and taught by Adjunct Instructor Jeremie Meyer of Enfield, Conn. Meyer is a certified Public Safety Telecommunications Instructor with over twenty three years of diverse public safety experience, thirteen of those years in Public Safety Communication with ever increasing responsibilities. Upon successful completion of the Public Safety Telecommunicator Instructor and Fire Service Communications Instructor certification courses from the Association of Public-Safety Communication Officers International (APCO), he spent ten of the thirteen years as a public safety communications instructor, training students in the proper procedures for effective public safety communications.Chosen over hundreds of other professional Public Safety Communications Officials to dispatch for the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command at the XIX Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City in 2002, which contributed to Homeland Security and ultimate protection of athletes, diplomats, host of international spectators, and the community of Salt Lake City area.He served the United States, working as the Dispatch Supervisor for the Area Support Group—Kuwait Fire & Emergency Services departments, protecting the U.S. military providing a safe and secure environment while they fight the War against Terrorism. Currently he is an Adjunct Instructor at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, where he developed, coordinates and instructs the Public Safety Dispatch & Continuing Dispatch Education Program under the Workforce Development & Continuing Education Department.