APCO Exam 2023 Questions with correct Answers

Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) - Answer- Essentially a "routing table" that identifies all street names, a range of theoretically possible house numbers for each street and which unique set of law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services providers are responsible for that address. Mobile Data Computer (MDC) - Answer- A communications device that has information processing capabilities. Typically build into the vehicles of law enforcement. Permit transfer of information from the PSAP and first responders. Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) - Answer- A communications device that, in most cases, has no information processing capabilities. Permit transfer of information from PSAP and the first responders. Mobile radio - Answer- A transmitter and receiver mounted in a vehicle requiring power from the vehicle and an antenna mounted on the vehicle. Mutual aid - Answer- A process of supplying supplemental personnel, equipment or other resources to an incident to assist agencies that may be in danger of becoming overwhelmed in their response. These procedures are normally predetermined and are spelled out in mutual aid agreements between response agencies. Mutual response (also known as Automatic aid) - Answer- A type of mutual aid response where an assisting agency automatically responds with the requesting agency on the initial alarm. National Incident Management System (NIMS) - Answer- An organized method to define roles, responsibilities, and standard operating procedures used to unify multiple disciplines in order to manage emergency operations under one functional organization. Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) - Answer- The term used to describe emerging technologies that may present 9-1-1 calls through voice, text, and/or video. Notification - Answer- The process of alerting law, fire and EMS of an incident requiring a response. Some fire and EMS departments use an audible system of alert tones or alarms to advise personnel of the type of call being dispatched. Alarms may be broadcast over the radio, sounded over a station's public address system or both. For law enforcement units, notification is typically by radio. Telematics and monitored alarm systems may provide notification of events through their central stations or telematics call centers. Mass notification systems provide alerts and warnings to the public-at-large over a wide area. The IPAWS system is an example. P-ANI (Pseudo ANI) - Answer- A "fake" number used by wireless telephone carriers to route the call and identify the cell site (and sector, if it's a sectored site) from which a wireless call originates. Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) - Answer- A standardized set of words used to associate the words with letters of the alphabet. Plain Language/Speech - Answer- The use of plain speech and the avoidance of codes (10-4, for example) in radio transmissions supports the goals of interoperability between departments as codes could vary from location to location. Incident Command system - Answer- A standard, on-scene, all-hazard incident management system that defines the operating characteristics, management components, and structure of incident management organizations throughout the life cycle of an incident. Incident Commander - Answer- The designated person "in charge" of the incident who responsibility for maintaining the command function. Incident Command Post - Answer- The location of the tactical level on-scene incident command and management organization where the incident is managed. Integrated Public Alert Warning system (IPAWS) - Answer- A federal initiative to develop an integrated nationwide public all-hazard emergency notification system, designed to use multiple technologies and transmission platforms. Implementation is ongoing. Interoperability - Answer- The ability of systems, units or forces to provide services to and accept services from other systems, units or forces, and to use the services exchanged to enable them to operate more effectively together. Integrated Public Alert and Warning system (IPAWS) - Answer- A modernization and integration of the nation's alert and warning infrastructure. The system combines elements of local, regional and specialized warning systems. Key box - Answer- A secure storage cabinet for hanging keys, often made of metal. Keyholder Keyholder - Answer- An individual affiliated with a building or facility that can respond to the location and provide access and information to response units. Keying - Answer- When the push-to-talk button is pressed, the transmitter is keyed, activating the radio transmitter. American Sign Language (ASL) - Answer- Language used by many hearing impaired callers to communicate using gestures, facial expressions, mime, speech reading, finger spelling, and signs. ASL Gloss refers to ASL communicated through the written word such as typing on a TTY. Antenna - Answer- A system of wires or electrical conductors employed for reception or transmission of radio waves. Apps - Answer- Downloadable programs designed for devices Isuch as "smart" cellphones that perform specific functions, like receiving weather alerts, highway/traffic/transit conditions or sending reports of crime. Automatic Colision Notification (ACN) - Answer- The onboard systems that transmit emergency messages from vehicles to PSAPS. Different systems use various technologies, like wireless or telematics, and may or may not be monitored. Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) - Answer- The automatic transmission to a TCC of crash-severity data and crash pulse data collected by embedded, in- vehicle crash sensors. Data is automatically sent to the TCC via wireless technology. Automatic Location Identification (ALI) - Answer- The automatic display at the public safety answering point of the caller's telephone number, the address/location of the telephone and supplementary emergency services information. Automatic number Identification (ANI) - Answer- The automatic display at the public safety answering point of the caller's telephone number. Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVL) - Answer- The tracking systems that display the location of vehicles on a monitoring console. Base station - Answer- A radio used by telecommunicators to transmit and receive messages. The radio may be located at the communications center or a remote location. Basic 9-1-1 - Answer- A system that provides dedicated lines for carrying 9-1-1 calls to the correct public safety answering point. It may or may not support ANI and/or ALI. Broadcast procedures - Answer- Policies and procedures for the correct way to send and receive messages by radio, including: on-ai: demeanor, message length, rate of speech, and the use of plain speech versus ten-codes. Call Box - Answer- System of telephones connected by private line telephone, radio frequency or cellular technology used to report emergency situations. Call classification - Answer- Systems adopted by PSAPS for telecommunicators to use analyzing in-coming calls. Variables typically include: nature of incident, seriousness of incident, and time lapse since occurrence of incident. Call processing - Answer- An all-encompassing term for actions that include answering the telephone, handling the conversation and gathering pertinent incident information. Call routing - Answer- The operational methods used to route call information through and between agencies. The four basic operational methods are direct dispatch, call transfer, call relay and call referral. Calls for service (CSF) - Answer- A telephone call taken at a PSAP from a party reporting a law enforcement concern and requesting a response. Telecommunicators work in the dual roles of call-takers and dispatchers to process and record the calls. Calltaker - Answer- A telecommunicator who processes incoming calls through the analyzing, prioritizing, and disseminating of information to aid in the safety of the public and responders. Call-up methods - Answer- The procedures for informing someone that radio traffic is about to be broadcast especially for them. Carry-over - Answer- allows a person who is hearing impaired or deaf to speak to the other party but receive responses by text reply. Hearing carry-over allows a person who is speech-impaired to send messages by text but receive audio replies. Channel - Answer- The electronic signal path radio frequency flows through. Often used synonymously with "frequency". Clipping - Answer- A term used concerning transmissions on two-way radios when either the first part of a message or the last part of a message is cut off as the result of either speaking before pressing the transmit key or releasing the transmit key prior to the end of a transmission. Command Post (Incident Command Post ICP) - Answer- The location of on-scene command. An orange flag or a green revolving strobe light or both typically identifies the Command Post. The Command Post is usually located upwind or in the front of the building/incident. Communication cycle - Answer- sender, receiver, message, medium, context and feedback. These six components are combined to reach the goal of on mind to another, with understanding. communication: to transfer ideas from Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) - Answer- An electronic database that provides the availability and other resources in order to facilitate calltaking and dispatch. telecommunicator with call information, response unit Confidentiality - Answer- The telecommunicator shall demonstrate comprehension and application regarding the discussion or release of information acquired obligation to not disclose or of the agency's confidentiality policies and rules in the workplace to the public, the media, or others. Conventional radio system - Answer- A radio system where a group of radios is assigned a frequency or channel and one radio may be transmitting at any time on the frequency to which those radios are assigned. Critical Incident/stress debriefing/management - Answer- A process some agencies use to help employees get through highly stressful, traumatic times. Customer Service - Answer- the appreciation of who PSAP customers are (internal and external), and the ways to meet or exceed their service expectations. CYMBALS - Answer- Acronym used for obtaining descriptions of vehicles from callers. It stands for Color, Year, Make/Model, Body Style, Additional Information, License Plate, State. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - Answer- An agency of the U.S. federal government, created following the terror attacks of 9/11 to help consolidate the dispersed programs of various departments. The mission is, among other responsibilities: preventing terrorism and enhancing security; managing the U.S. borders; administering immigration laws; securing cyberspace; and ensuring disaster resilience Descriptive information - Answer- details that describe persons or vehicles for the purpose of identification. For persons, this information includes age, height, weight and race. For vehicles, see CYMBALS. Direct Dispatch - Answer- when a call is dispatched directly by the PSAP that receives the call. Preliminary dispatch is the initial dispatch providing incident. Post-dispatch refers to broadcasts and actions taken only the most pertinent info. Post Dispatch - Answer- telecommunicators may initiate subsequent actions and notify additional resources during ___________ ___________ procedures Echo procedure - Answer- procedures used to repeat important info and clarify it. Examples may include directions of travel information received in a radio transmission to confirm or and vehicle description during a vehicle pursuit. Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) - Answer- A telecommunicator who provides dispatch services by analyzing, prioritizing, and processing calls while safe, efficient, and effective responses to calls for maintaining radio contact with responders to ensure emergency medical services, in accordance with local, state, tribal, or national standards. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - Answer- System designed for use by predetermined criteria and responses. equipment and vehicles that provide both on-scene emergency medical care and transportation to medical telecommunicators to assist them in evaluating patient symptoms using include the personnel, operations, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) - Answer- Large area that can accommodate emergency responders from different agencies so they can share information, coordinate resources and organize emergency response work. Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) - Answer- Many emergency management agencies prepare for a variety of situations (like tornado, hurricane, flood), especially if their area is prone to a certain type of disaster. Training drills can be conducted, supplies can be prepositioned, and evacuation routes can be worked out ahead of time to facilitate response when an actual disaster occurs. Encoder - Answer- A device that converts an entered code into paging codes that activate a variety of paging devices. Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) - Answer- A system that enhances basic 9-1-1 by automatically providing the caller's phone number (ANI) and physical address (ALI). Escalating emergency - Answer- An emergency that has the potential to become larger either in size or need for response personnel. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Answer- an independent U.S. government agency, directly responsible to the U.S. Congress that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Answer- an agency of the U.S. federal government. Their mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that the country builds, sustains and improves its capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, and recover from and mitigate all hazards. FirstNet - Answer- A federal initiative creating a network of networks to support public safety responders nationwide. Fire Service - Answer- The agency that provides emergency response to emergencies involving fire, hazardous materials and, in many jurisdictions, rescues. Four W's - Answer- Critical questions telecommunicators need to gather pertinent information. Of the four questions, Where? Is the most important and should be asked first. A fifth "W", weapons, can also be critical. Frequency - Answer- Radio frequency is the rate of oscillation of radio waves transmitted by a radio station. The radio channels used for public safety communications correspond to specific radio frequencies. Geographical service areas - Answer- delineated to define where a public safety agency is responsible for service delivery. These areas may be coterminous with a town, city or county, or specially defined like the catchment area for a hospital, a fire district or a police precinct. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - Answer- A database capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information. Law enforcement - Answer- The agency responsible for the deterrence of crime and enforcement when a law has been violated.