Vancouver, B.C. – The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) of Canada has named E-Comm training specialist Colin Brittain as the country’s 2019 Trainer of the Year. Brittain was recognized at a special ceremony in Halifax, where emergency communication professionals from across Canada were gathered for the annual APCO professional development conference.
In receiving the award, Brittain was heralded as the perfect embodiment of an individual who has been “vital to the excellence and success of a training program within a Public Safety Communications Agency.”
Since joining E-Comm in 2003, Brittain has worked as a police Call Taker, Dispatcher, Training Specialist, and Supervisor and currently holds the position of Policy, Support and Implementation Manager.
“Our training department is instrumental in the success of 9-1-1 service and our team’s ability to meet the demands of the job to ensure the public receives the help they need and first responders are supported in the critical work they do,” says Oliver Grüter-Andrew, President and CEO of E-Comm. “This award is a well-deserved recognition of Colin’s ongoing commitment to public safety, and a testament to the calibre of all our trainers.”
Brittain was honoured for his leadership in creating the training program for the opening of a new 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre to serve the Greater Victoria area. He was part of the team that determined the required training curriculum for the staff who would be supporting this centre and was instrumental in supporting the training of these 60 staff members over a five-week period.
“When opening a new centre, there is a certain amount of additional pressure that gets put on the training team to make sure staff are appropriately prepared to take those first calls. Colin absolutely rose to this challenge with a positive, calming demeanour that was contagious to all,” adds Grüter-Andrew. “His willingness to assist others and his commitment to supporting E-Comm employees for the betterment of public safety in British Columbia is unequaled.”
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About E-Comm
E-Comm is the first point of contact for 9-1-1 callers in 25 regional districts in British Columbia and provides dispatch services for more than 70 police agencies and fire departments. E‐Comm also owns and operates the largest multi‐jurisdictional, tri‐service wide‐area radio network in the province used by police, fire and ambulance personnel throughout Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley. As of October 31, E-Comm has handled over 1.5 million 9-1-1 calls in B.C. so far in 2019.
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Photo of Colin Brittain (centre) accepting the APCO Canada Trainer of the Year award.
