Port Chester going to 60 Control?

[Guest backupat24]

we have had numerous calls since we have gone to 60 and there has not been a problem yet everything is going well we are on the avg of doing 5 calls a day and so far everything is good i think this will work out good for us

[E64PCFD2044 1]

changed ur tune charlie??

[Guest]

FYI there have been some problems with 60 control dispatching Port Chester. Check it out with PCFD members.

[Pudge3311 5]

what kind of problems?

[WAS967 97]

Probably the usual change over pains that people like to blow out of proportion in the name of bitching and moaning.

[Guest]

IT"S ABOUT TIME!!!!!! =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Reading some of these posts you would think you were in Nassau County...my neck of the woods, Nassau County Firecom has had a few larger departments switch over to them in the past few years and it is the same thing, it takes awhile to get the kinks out....now my question I met some guys from Port Chester a few years back who explained the system they had with the paid guys, if I am correct it was 2 paid engines at opposite ends of the district with 2 guys each. Depending on where the alarm was determined which engine responded and which stayed back to dispatch. If a second alarm came in the paid engine that was on radio handed the whole ball of wax over to 60 control..radio and phones.....correct?? Not for anything thtat seemed like a poor resource of manpower. My question is now that 60 is dispatching full time, are all the on duty paid manpower responding on one engine? This would make a for a first due truck with at least a crew to do something with....and I say it with all do respect, Nassau has a simillar problem with a department that has some paid crews on duty, and rather then combine all the manpower on 1 rig, they have them relocating to HQ for radio, and a second engine with only 2. Stay safe all.

[emt301 4]

But seriously, again, what problems have there been?

One "problem" I have noticed is some of the PCFD rigs still calling out 10-8 or in service when they're actually NOT 10-8 or NOT in service since they're actually 10-17 or responding to a call. This is NOT a 60-control problem...its a radio discipline problem with a VERY FEW of the PCFD members (most are doing quite well with the switch).

I also believe there may initially have been a couple of problems with the 60-control CAD system recognizing the proper assignment for a handfull of locations, but I understand that these were quickly addressed & fixed. Overall, given PCFD's call volume, any of these problems seem to be the usual growing pains (in other words, small problems that are quickly solved).

I'd be very interested in hearing any of any large scale complaints or problems noted in previous posts. At this point I'd have to agree with WAS967's assessment of the situation until proven otherwise.

[cas2383 22]

In response to previous posts, the two career engines remain seperate, in seperate quarters and all dispatching is now up to 60 control. Depending on the location of the call either engine will respond. At night E-59 Relocates to Rye Brook's new firehouse to staff it while they are off duty. As for making mistakes on the radio I myself have made the mistake out of habbit, which is just a matter of getting rid of the "old" and in with the new terms.

[x635 4,066]

FYI there have been some problems with 60 control dispatching Port Chester. Check it out with PCFD members.

I think EMT301, and other posters of this thread, have some valid points.

It's so easy to make that type of comment to stir the pot. Anybody can sit there and complain and say stuff like that. But substantiate it with something.

Also, was the previous dispatch setup problem free? Would you rather have full-time, dedicated professional dispatchers in a professional enviorment with proper equipment, that will follow the call from beginnning to end?

Or have firefighters that take the call then dump to the next house and then dump to 60 anyways? Do you realize what's lost in that type of system? Is that the right way to do things? Are firefighters supposed to be dispatchers? Or should they be on the streets?

Complaints are absolutely useless, unless you complain and have a solution.

A transition from a very old and traditional department that's been doing something the same way for years is going to have some bugs, and some of the Anti-Progressive people whining. This has only been in effect for a very short period of time, and there are many people on both sides working hard to try and make this work well. Negative does nothing, positive pushes progresion.

[Guest]

I don't want to be negative regarding 60 control dispatching , but there is no time to work out the kinks as stated in other posts. Mistakes in dispatching can kill somebody, ie.. Delayed calls, wrong addresses etc. Also there is nothing better than dispatching ones own local fire dept. beacause you know the district better than somebody a number of miles away. #-o

[mikeinet 37]

pbvpm - I agree about there being no "real" room for kinks... but we all know that is not reality, in ANY live-environment.

I am not sure I agree with you though about self-dispatching. I personally am a dispatcher for a small ambulance org. in upstate, NY... and I can tell you how big a pain in the butt it is to have to be on the phone with a caller, be on another phone calling for ALS, dispatching the crew, and also on another phone getting police to come. Just an example.

Having a central dispatching agency brings everything under one hat, allows for messages to move a lot more smoothly, and allows for things to happen faster.

Think of the time it takes for 1 person to dispatch a BLS Ambulance, an ALS fly car, and a police car... VS dispatching a BLS ambulance, calling for an ALS fly car, then another dispatcher dispatching that fly car after typing it into a separate CAD... then calling a police agency to have them dispatch a unit, after entering all the info into another cad... big difference in time.

I agree that nobody but your own district knows your district... but the way society is today, it's just something that cannot work.

My $.02

[spin_the_wheel 460]

As for the previous post of dispatching your own department and knowing it better.......are all the paid Port Chester firemen who acted as dispatchers from Port Chester? Or are they from a civil service list where the last 3 hired are from various parts of Westchester or out of county? If so they are no better then some one at 60 control untill they learn the area and system. I'm from Nassau and we hear the same excuses about "knowing your own department" and its just not true. If you have a decent cad system and quality dispatchers who know how to call take there is no problem at all period. Maybe this was so decades ago when there was little use of a cad system and the callers would say "there is a barn burning next to old man cartwrights place" then knowing the area would be a must...not anymore. It may take time to work the "kinks" out, but I cant imagine a kink being so big to delay an alarm where it is a life hazard with the exception of equipment failure which would not be the fault of the dispatcher. 99% of any major fire gets multuple phone calls so even if the first call there was confusion of an address the second or third calls would clear it up where there would be no delay in getting the call out. The kinks I see when a larger department moves to another dispatch agency is usually with unit response when a box or zone system is involved, and in Port's case they have a paid engine on the road in an instant, any problem with engines being assigned when they should not be would not matter as the paid crew will get there in no time.

[x635 4,066]

I don't want to be negative regarding 60 control dispatching , but there is no time to work out the kinks as stated in other posts. Mistakes in dispatching can kill somebody, ie.. Delayed calls, wrong addresses etc. Also there is nothing better than dispatching ones own local fire dept. beacause you know the district better than somebody  a number of miles away. #-o

PLEASE explain to me how the call is delayed????? I assume call is transferred via PCPD to PCFD, so now instead it's transferred to 60, WHERES THE DELAY THERE??? In fact, a professional dispatcher with a CAD system may be faster to get a call out that someone who has to do it manually. Also, the professional dispatcher may be more experienced and better at calltaking and dispatching, and therefore quicker. Also, they may be better at interviewing the caller and getting better information to pass along to responding units, and may also have better tools at his/her disposal. Dumping your house dispatch to 60 Control or splitting it between two places or people......now THERE IS a fine example of delaying output of a call!!!!!!!!!!!

About the mistakes part?? So were never supposed to progress foward because we are afraid of mistakes??? How about somebody follow the FD around all day, watching-listening-recording-documenting their every move? That's what a dispatchers life is.....and everybody thinks they know how to do the job....I guarentee you if we follow the FD around, they would make mistakes too. Again, I don't understand where your coming from on this issue. Mistakes in Dispatch can kill somebody, yes,(just like mistakes in the field) but so can being anti-progressive and negative. You fail to provide to me enough serious arguments or facts to make me even consider that a switch like this would harm citizens.

Don't be so quick to criticize without knowing the other side. The comments you made apply to people in the field just as much as they apply to dispatch.

HOME DISPATCH=OLD SCHOOL.

Firefighters should fight fires and rescue people, Dispatchers should dispatch and rescue people. There's nothing wrong with your own dispatch center, but in this county and most, centralized dispatching is the way to go.

[Guest]

You have to be kidding. 60 control has had nothing but trouble with there cad sysytem through out the years. and what happenes when your cad crashes, so lets remember there is no place like home, if its not broke don't fix it. I stand by my comments 60 control is not the answer for everybody. I agree you shouldn't dump your house to 60 control, stay there and dispatch yourselves.Also Firefighters make good dispatchers, they can handle the telphone. STAY SAFE. :roll:

[x635 4,066]

You have to be kidding. 60 control has had nothing but trouble with there cad sysytem through out the years. and what happenes when your cad crashes,  so lets remember there is no place like home, if its not broke don't fix it. I stand by my comments 60 control is not the answer for everybody. I agree you shouldn't dump your house to 60 control, stay there and dispatch yourselves.Also Firefighters make good dispatchers, they can handle the telphone.  STAY SAFE. :roll:

Again, I don't understand your comments. You say what if your CAD crashes, well there is a system in place for in the rare occurence that that happens. (Also, just so you know, hundreds of agencies around the country succesfully use a CAD system. CAD systems enhance operations in many different ways)

WHAT IF YOUR FIRETRUCK BREAKS DOWN ON A WAY TO A CALL??? What if your hose breaks?? Huh? What If, What If, What If???

Yes, 60 Control has HAD CAD issues, but in the last couple of years they have made quite succesful strides. The County needs to allocate more $$$ for more staff to maintain the CAD. Don't forget, this is WC....it's not like its one agency.....YOu have 56 different fire and 38 different EMS agencies that all have their own way of doing things, which makes operating/desinging a CAD system for that quite a unique challenge.

IMO, the words "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" are very, very dagerous words that usually impede progress. How would we find new, better, safer and more efficient ways to do things if we'd live by those words????? That statement right there is part of the problem with some people in the WC fire service. If the medical field lived by those words, then barbers would still be doing minor surgery. You say in one post that there is no time for mistakes, but in this post you say wait till a problem arises and lives are at stake before fixing it. Whats up with that?

As far as firefighters making good dispatchers, I'm not really arguing that. I'm saying Firefighters shouldnt be dispatching, and professional dispatchers in a professional setting should. That, IMO, is a negligent waste of resources. How can you justify keeping a Firefighter behind a desk dispatching when there is an agency there that will do it essentially for free?

I urge you to do a sit along with the professional men and women of 60 Control, and see how challenging their job is, and how well they do it.

Anybody else with me here?

[JohnnyOV 2]

i totally agree with you X635. If we still went along with the "its not broke dont fix it" saying, we would not have 911, E911, and we would still have a tank of water carried by a horse to the scene.

pbvpm, you need to look at what technology has brought to us. Without it, we would still be doing things "the old way." Change is good. Without change, there is no progress in the world (i think i stole that from somebody, not sure who though). You wouldnt even be able to complain on this forum ( :wink: ) if it wasnt for technology and its advances. Hell, getting away from the communications side, we would all still be weaing highrise leather boots with a heavy leather jacket if nobody had said, you know what, there has got to be something better and safer for firefighters to use. Same applies with the CAD system. It is a safer system for the county to use because it enhaces the dispatchers ablility to identify whats going on, whos where and what needs to be taken care of.

[SteveOFD 176]

pbvbm wrote

Also there is nothing better than dispatching ones own local fire dept. because you know the district better than somebody a number of miles away.

Our local dispatch (PD) has some good and some "not so good" dispatchers regarding dispatch of the Fire Dept. All FD dispatch assigngments (boxes) are displayed on their computer screen when the call is taken. Many times the assignment is the wrong one because the dispatcher will send what he thinks should go rather than looking at the screen. What do you do when you know the call address is one your Co. is assigned but dispatch has sent the wrong box. Do you respond or don't you? It has happened so often the Chief has told all Co.'s to respond as if the correct box was dispatched. If this is the case why even bother sending the box, just everyone go when they feel like it. All it takes is a professional who knows what to do when dispatching.

[DOC22 1]

I don't want to be negative regarding 60 control dispatching , but there is no time to work out the kinks as stated in other posts. Mistakes in dispatching can kill somebody, ie.. Delayed calls, wrong addresses etc. Also there is nothing better than dispatching ones own local fire dept. beacause you know the district better than somebody  a number of miles away. #-o

I'm with you 100%, x635! We USED to self dispatch EONS ago back in the days when we had 4 digit dialling. We went with 60 Control in the 1970's and have had nothing but success. Any problems were EXTREMELY MINOR and had NO significant effect on anything. We do have a system in place for any system failure @ 60 but hell, I can't remember the last time we had to use it. So,pbvpm, if you want to pass comments bashing a system that works and works well at that maybe you ought to do your homework before you get yourself into a position that resembles the part of the horse that is the last to get over the fence!

[ja3kfd 34]

I agree with you x635,progress is a good thing espically in westchester County where it takes forever to get anything done in changes at the Fire Service end of things. When Katonah switched to Countywe TRIPLED are call volume, No more Police sending cars to smoke coming from house and all the other great blunders that used to happen,and why can't we get it so the County has complete control over the radio system,have them tell you where to and when to change channels to free up the busy 46.26 know would'nt that make all our lives smother? yes we know it would but we need to swallow the pride and stubborness give up our radio liscense and let the county run the system and make it safer for all of us. Change is good and let us keep moving forward.

[E64PCFD2044 1]

if your name is 635 you must know a thing or two about a CAD system and 60-control.

[JBE 328]

I do have one question, since it was just mentioned. Do the departments that have 60 dispatching them have to give up the radio licensce for the base station?? Do you guys still do weekly radio/pager checks and announcements??

Side note: I used to love doing that stuff.

[Guest]

in port chester they still do radio tests evrysunday from what i here but by word of mouth i here that still have there radios for major emergencys like if there is a big storm or something big going on they can do it themselves

[Guest]

Most of the replies are from volunteer fire departments that were using police dispatching, so yea maybe a step up,but not every 60 control dispatcher is a good dispatcher just listen, and I'm not pointing fingers. JUST THE FACTS MAAM, JUST THE FACTS. lol =D>

:-k

[x635 4,066]

Most of the replies are from volunteer fire departments that were using police dispatching, so yea maybe a step up,but  not every 60 control dispatcher is a good dispatcher just listen, and I'm not pointing fingers. JUST THE FACTS MAAM, JUST THE FACTS. lol =D>

:-k

I give up, lol!!! Your views are EXTREMLY one sided! Try and look at the whole big picture. Your points are very vague to me. So you are saying EVERY single Firefighter, er, dispatcher is a great dispatcher? And you are saying that every single Firefighter in any department is a great firefighter? You are portraying the perfect-do-no-wrong Firefighter Dispatcher. Selective memory I guess.

All I'm hearing here is a bunch of prejudiced excuses why this won't work, or why it is bad. How about why it is good, and what will make it work better? Adapt to change???

BTW, FYI, 60 Control is not a single person effort....it is a TEAM effort!! Each group of 4-5 dispatchers works together to handle each and every call.

[DOC22 1]

Most of the replies are from volunteer fire departments that were using police dispatching, so yea maybe a step up,but  not every 60 control dispatcher is a good dispatcher just listen, and I'm not pointing fingers. JUST THE FACTS MAAM, JUST THE FACTS. lol =D>

:-k

Well, just so you know North Salem has a part time PD so when I say we were sewlf dispatched I mean we were exactly that. Members had the equipment in their homes and places of business, and I still say the system (60 Control) is a VAST improvement no matter what you say,pbvpm!

[Guest]

pbvpm has got to go....he doesn't improve the quality of the website

[Guest]

He is speaking his opinion.

I am not saying I agree with his comments, nor do I appreciate his tone.

He is just saying what he feels - as boneheaded as it may seem.

I'm not about to speak on this topic, I have my opinions.

[Guest]

X635 said

I give up, lol!!! Your views are EXTREMLY one sided! Try and look at the whole big picture. Your points are very vague to me. So you are saying EVERY single Firefighter, er, dispatcher is a great dispatcher? And you are saying that every single Firefighter in any department is a great firefighter? end Quote

I said no such thing, and just because you and I have different opinions you said my comments are one sided, our Firefighting experiance's are different thats all. I have been in the Fire service for over 25 yrs and most of the replies are from one sided views. the only problem is they are on the wrong side. I haven't been negative, just stating my view. :-k =D>

[x635 4,066]

I said no such thing, and just because you and I have different opinions you said my comments are one sided, our Firefighting experiance's are different thats all. I have been in the Fire service for over 25 yrs and most of the replies are from one sided views. the only problem is they are on the wrong side. I haven't been negative, just stating my view. :-k =D>

My issue is that you make up a bunch of "What Ifs" about the Dispatch side of things. The "What Ifs" could just as easily happen to the response side of things. I respect your views, and you have every right to state your opinion, as do I. Please note I've been on both sides of this issue. I just feel you need to look (and understand) facts from both sides of the issues before making prejuical comments. The term "Benefit of the doubt" comes to mind. You're not even giving this switch a chance with an open mind. 25 years is a long time, and you are probaly set in your ways, and like most senior guys, think us youngins are nuts. But it's going to be our future, and we all need to work together to progress to serve the citizens of the WC better.