2026 Ian Thompson Bursary Winner, Louis Fraser-Wilson, took the opportunity to visit the NENA Annual Conference held in Columbus, Ohio - here is his story from his time in North America...
1️⃣/3️⃣ First Stop: Boston, MA
I flew into Boston having made no plans beyond booking accommodation, so I set about exploring the city on foot. I wanted to learn more about the city's emergency services, so I did something entirely out of my comfort zone - just walked up and asked.
Fortunately for me, I happened to ask the right people:
Captain Tony O'Brien of the Boston EMS Special Operations and Emergency Preparedness Division and State Trooper Jarred Tiberi of the Massachusetts State Police Special Emergency Response Team. Both were incredibly generous in sharing insights into how their agencies had prepared for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - Canada, Mexico and the United States events in the city.
It's always interesting hearing how other agencies prepare for large-scale events like this. London has an established way of doing these things within JESIP, and it seems to work well for us, but we're never beyond reproach.
We should always be willing to learn from our emergency services colleagues overseas in pursuit of better and new ways of working. A few patches and challenge coins heavier, and with my legs still recovering from climbing the Bunker Hill Monument, I got ready to travel onwards to Columbus.
2️⃣/3️⃣ Second Stop: Columbus, Ohio
Julie Grosert and I attended NENA: The 9-1-1 Association's International Reception, where I found myself sticking out like a sore thumb in my NHS ambulance greens. It was however a great opportunity to catch up with some familiar CC:IPS colleagues - Lee Ann Magoski, ENP and April Heinze, ENP, amongst others.
I spoke to a number of other international emergency services professionals, but Golden Line Scholarship winner Pavi Thind of E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated, a rising star in the Canadian public safety communications sector, stuck out to me. Hearing about his experiences working in emergency communications in Canada was very insightful. We bumped into each other a lot over the coming days and traded stories from our control rooms.
The conference itself was incredibly productive, with keynote speeches from Adam Smiley Poswolsky on the power of human connection and renowned psychologist Dr Michelle Lilly on navigating stress in control rooms for both individuals and organisations. Both provided plenty of food for thought from my perspective as a Performance Manager.
There were many other breakout sessions, presentations and social events throughout the conference, but a particular professional highlight for me was Katie Decker, ENP and Steve Tait's session on the Enhanced PSAP Registry and Census (EPRC), and the future plans for expansion of the platform. Exciting developments in the world of international emergency calls.
A personal highlight was meeting a group of dispatchers from Baldwin County 9-1-1. It was fascinating hearing about the experiences of (what to me were) smaller PSAPs and the American model of 911 centres, where some staff may be working across as many as nine screens! Even I as a manager only use 5 in our operations centre
As far as I'm aware, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has never attended this conference before, yet our reputation as one of - if not the largest - EMS control rooms in the world had clearly preceded us. It was heartening to discover that many people in this international community already recognised our organisation and were keen to discuss our work.
I also need to give special thanks to the wonderful Ty Wooten, ENP, who put me in contact with Christopher Pillar. Chris hosted 🇺🇦 Salvatore Baglieri 🇺🇦 and I for a personal tour around the Columbus Fire Department ECC. It was incredibly interesting to hear about all their challenges, and I enjoyed seeing their intuitive spreadsheet backup solution to tracking resource statuses in the event of a CAD outage - an idea I haven't seen used before for business continuity incidents.
Thanks, Chris, for giving us a close look at your operations, for the new sticker which takes up about half my laptop and, perhaps most importantly, the lift to the airport!
3️⃣/3️⃣ Third Stop: Washington, D.C.
My time in Washington was incredible, and I have to thank Heather McGaffin, ENP CPE for inviting me to visit and tour the DC The Office of Unified Communications
I'm still in awe of both their facilities and T.H.O.R., which sparked a deep-seated sense of envy that I haven't quite managed to shake. Despite belonging to OUC, T.H.O.R. can deploy anywhere in the country and be used to support 911 centres outside of the capital when required. As a resilience resource for PSAPs, it's difficult not to see the value it brings.
I'd be interested to see whether a similar concept could be deployed in the UK to support 999 control rooms requiring additional capacity for maintenance works, resilience planning, or major planned events. However, such an initiative would almost certainly require national buy-in, as the acquisition and ongoing maintenance costs would likely be too significant for any single service to bear alone.
The peak of my trip was undoubtedly the 4th of July, when I was fortunate enough to join a good friend of mine to watch the fireworks from a building near the Capitol. Despite the lightning giving some cause for concern, standing on a roof and all, the evening was unforgettable and will remain one of the standout memories of the entire trip.
On the day I was due to fly home, I decided to heed the advice I'd received at OUC from Battalion Chief Nicole Liriano of the DC Fire and EMS Department and visit Engine 13. Firefighter Technician Seiferd was kind enough to show Mackenzi and I around the station and talk about the work of Foam Unit 1, which deploys to locations including the White House to provide firefighting cover for helicopter landings, most notably Marine One.
All in all, my trip to the USA was amazing. I cannot thank enough every person who helped make it special. Americans often talk about Southern Hospitality, but my experience was that people everywhere I visited were willing to go the extra mile to share their expertise, experience and knowledge.
I must also thank British APCO for making this trip possible. It would be remiss of me not to mention everyone from BAPCO who supported me in applying for, and getting the most out of, the Ian Thompson Bursary – you know who you are ! For anyone considering applying for the Ian Thompson Bursary in future years, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Opportunities like this can provide enormous value if you're willing to put the effort in to make the most of them.
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