As a senior consultant, he will guide the firm’s clients as they pursue technological and operational advancements to better fulfill their life-safety missions
State College, Pa. (October 14, 2026) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced that public-safety veteran and noted visionary Jim Lake has joined the firm as a senior consultant.
Lake’s public-safety career spans more than four decades. He served both as a police officer and firefighter/emergency medical technician before moving into emergency communications center /emergency operations center management, first with the Massachusetts State Police and later with the city of Northampton, Mass., and the Massachusetts State 911 Department.
For the last 18 years, Lake was director of the Charleston County (S.C.) Consolidated Emergency Communications Center, which serves 36 municipal and county law enforcement, fire/rescue, and emergency medical departments, as well as U.S. Department of Defense, Coast Guard, and National Park facilities in the area. Significant accomplishments while at Charleston County include the following:
- Led a $27 million project that resulted in construction of a new public safety facility with upgraded technology. Given that the area is hurricane prone, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified facility was designed and built to withstand winds up to 191 miles per hour.
- Recognizing the incredible stresses that 911 telecommunicators experience daily, implemented a wellness program, peer-support program, and stress-resiliency training program.
- Pioneered the concept of alternative first response by embedding a mental-health clinician in the center, so that emergency callers can get the most appropriate help faster, which often does not require law enforcement or emergency medical response.
- Launched a program intended to reduce telecommunicator stress by identifying new approaches to handling nonemergency calls. One aspect was to create short videos that educate the public on when it is appropriate to dial 911 and what to do when it is not.
- Led the center’s staff to acquire International Academies of Emergency Dispatch for Fire and Medical Dispatch and Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies certifications.
Lake is a cofounder of the Early Adopter Summit, an invitation-only event that convenes public-safety leaders each year to explore the next phase of technological and operational advancements. He also is a National Emergency Number Association (NENA) instructor, notably for the Communications Manager Certification Program.
“For many years, Jim Lake’s vision has driven profound technological and operational advancements in the 911 community,” said Darrin Reilly, MCP’s president and CEO. “We’re thrilled that he will be helping MCP’s clients resolve challenges, leverage opportunities, and, most importantly, lead them into the future as they fulfill their critical life-safety missions.”
