Centralized Dispatch Beefs Up Department Coverage

[Geppetto 31]

Scarsdale Patch

Adopting a fire emergency dispatch system will add efficiency and manpower to Scarsdale Fire Department's efforts, says Chief Cain, hopefully without any loss of customer service.

By Stefan Doyno

07/22/10

To outsource or not outsource? Even the Scarsdale Fire Department faces this question in an age of budgetary belt-tightening.

In the case of moving the village's emergency dispatch services to Valhalla, and consolidating with the county fire operator, Fire Chief Thomas Cain said there are more benefits than drawbacks, at a July 13 meeting before Scarsdale's Board of Trustees. ...

http://scarsdale.patch.com/articles/fire-chief-centralized-dispatch-beefs-up-department-coverage

[Monty 35]

Scarsdale Patch

Adopting a fire emergency dispatch system will add efficiency and manpower to Scarsdale Fire Department's efforts, says Chief Cain, hopefully without any loss of customer service.

By Stefan Doyno

07/22/10

http://scarsdale.patch.com/articles/fire-chief-centralized-dispatch-beefs-up-department-coverage

Yeah, I just saw this too. Some interesting points from the article. Politics gets everywhere Looks like some have the fear of loosing local control.

From the article, it looks like there will be no additional cost to the Dept - without it there will be an additional cost of 200-400K to get some sort of full time staff, or work something out with the PD to cover the FD dispatch.

Seems like a no-brainer but I know from experience how difficult these changes can be

Cain spent a good deal of time trying to address what he called rumours surrounding the restructuring. He assured the trustees that, rather than losing career positions on the force, he expects the move would secure positions and allow firefighters to focus soley on the call of duty – namely, dealing with fires and helping the public.

The proposition alone has been cause for concern among the union leadership, which has been concerned that the consolidation may make it easier for the department to lay off workers or shed overtime.

Last, and possibly most contentious for some, is the fate of the volunteer firefighters.

......

Rich Foran, the president of the Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, raised concerns at and after the meeting.

"We hope that the countywide radio is not a prelude in trying to extinguish the Volunteer Firefighters of Scarsdale, and [a step to] create a massive fire district," wrote Foran in an e-mail to Patch, and he exressed fears that the volunteer firefighters feared being overlooked in other ways, as well.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

The simple answer is a staffing clause in the contract, ensuring no positions are lost in the career staff. EFD moved dispatch to 60-Control years ago. The benefit was getting an additional member onto Engine 27. The drawback was there was/is no place to put a member who might become injured, and have a "light-duty" position to place the member while he/she recovers, like dispatch. This could have serious ramifications, and must be addressed.

I can almost guarantee one thing; 60 Control takes over dispatch full time; SFD call volume is going to go up. It did with our job.

As far as the volunteers go, I don't know what their concerns might be. It doesn't really make a difference who is dispatching calls as far as volunteer response is concerned. It has no effect on it.

On a lighter note, sometimes our dispatchers could be hilarious. Most were senior members doing their last years on the job. One call came in years ago from a pay phone at the Bronx River Pkwy gas station. The guy was calling about his own car, and there was nobody in it as it was burning. Our seasoned dispatcher explained, "no sorry that's in Yonkers......got another quarter?"

Of course he then called YFD......

On a more serious note, nobody knows the district better than the SFD members. That's a big advantage to dispatching. Tough call for SFD.

[wraftery 1,275]

Ditto EFDCAPT on the light duty people. Off the job injuries such as rotator cuff surgery have needed a long recoup time. In many cases you are only covered for 180 days sick time. BIG thing to think about.

Also, when you call Scarsdale now you get a FF. Not just for local knowledge, but he has FF Knowledge.

For the 60 Control guys, this is not a slam. Bnechis has another thread abaout pissing off your dispatcher, so I'm replying to two threads simultaneously. I think it may be EMT-B's first double play.

[WstPrideEng92 3]

1 centralized dispatch center and a county wide box system would be nice. Every town could get rid of redundency's throughout the county.

[M' Ave 1,466]

There may very well be some trade-offs with a move to a centralized dispatch system, but the benefits FAR out weigh the costs. Having a fireman on the line may be helpful in terms of knowing the lay of the land, but thats what we have CIDS programs for and what not. Dispatchers are pros at just that, dispatching. They're specialists in handling calls and the caller who may be in some kind of duress. Having that fireman on the rig is far more beneficial than having them sitting at a desk. 911 calls should go to ONE place. That's the safest way to ensure the best response and coverage.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

There may very well be some trade-offs with a move to a centralized dispatch system, but the benefits FAR out weigh the costs. Having a fireman on the line may be helpful in terms of knowing the lay of the land, but thats what we have CIDS programs for and what not. Dispatchers are pros at just that, dispatching. They're specialists in handling calls and the caller who may be in some kind of duress. Having that fireman on the rig is far more beneficial than having them sitting at a desk. 911 calls should go to ONE place. That's the safest way to ensure the best response and coverage.

M, there's a lot about smaller jobs, contractual issues, personel issues that we may not be privy too. Sure in the ideal world you're absolutley right. BUT; the concerns of the local NEED to be addressed.

Example: A member with 18 1/2 years on the job suffers a traumatic injury, on or off the job, that keeps him off the line yet he will run his sick days out way before he gets to his 20. FDNY has _____light duty positions; you fill in the blank. Scarsdale has a dispatch position that the member could neccesarily perform, in this instance. And trust me, 60-Control is awesome, we all agree. And the move in EFD we made worked out; because the District has honored it's responsibility, and liability, to keep the staffing. But, we lost that position on the desk, and if any members now need that as their only way to perform a fire department function, it's gone.

This is the true trade off. Smaller jobs do not have the luxury to place members in____positions at Metrotech, messenger vans, etc.

Of course, all of this COULD be addressed with the consolidation plan in Southern Westchester, but who's holding their breath on that one?

Another thing I'd ask you is why the FDNY dispatchers were all condensed into Metrotech, in the era that we're in now. I thought that was a bad move then and still do now. How many documented errors were made during that transition? Were any lives lost? If one life is lost, is it a good move, does it justify a cost savings? It does not, and this is all just my opinion anyway.

Stay well K.

[M' Ave 1,466]

Capt, I was pushing more of an advocacy towards a centralized dispatch, not the specific staffing of Scarsdale. Surely there are many contractual issues, however, they shouldn't impact the function of emergency response. I'm sure that Scaredale did a fine job at the dispatch console, but the resources available to an agency that does that SINGLE task, are far greater. They have redundancy within the same office, ect. ect.

That aside, I couldn't agree more that you need to have positions for those who cannot, for any reason, function as a Full Duty fireman. It's true, while there are many light duty spots around the city, there are also 12,000 firemen/officers. If that single position as a dispatcher was a good place for a Light Duty guy, then it shouldn't be too hard for the village to find another position for someone off-line to fill. Bottom line, firemen get hurt and that's that. Accidents happen, par for the course. It's up to the municipality to provide a place for them to work in Light Duty capacity if they are injured. If they don't have a place for them.....that's the villages problem. Perhaps part of this arrangement could be unlimited sick leave. Of course the municipality will want to supervise this, but....whatever. Again, that's on them. If a member suffers a traumatic injury on the job, well, that's what a 3/4 disability is for.

Lastly, about the city's dispatch, some of the dispatchers were moved to 11 Metro-tech. Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island are in Downtown Brooklyn. Queens and 'da Bronx continue to operate out of their original offices, and that's how it's going to remain. Bronx dispatch is also set-up to handle city wide, should something happen. That said, I think the consolidation is a terrible idea. WHY would you put your eggs in one basket? It doesn't really save that much money as all positions, more or less, have remained. It's all part of this UCT dispatch program. NYPD civilian call takers answer 911 calls and send the info to the respective agencies via glorified text msg. FDNY dispatchers then turn out the companies based on the initial information received from the call takers (who are not anywhere near them). We roll out the door, all too often, with little more than an address, cross-streets and "multdwell" or "pvtdwell" and a letter code A-E, all of which mean "smoke or fire". Sometimes, if we're lucky, we get SOME additional information enroute, such as the nature. Is it an odor of smoke, or a sparking outlet, ect. ect. UCT, for Unified Call Taker, is referred to as "U Can't Tell" in the firehouse. It's lousy. Prior to UCT you could get a sense of what was going on. If it was a phone alarm, that was a pretty reliable source, meaning, someone actually called in and spoke to a dispatcher. If you got a second source, it was because the dispatcher felt that another source was providing them with information that added to the severity of the alarm. When the dispatcher actually spoke to the caller, they could determine if it sounded legit. Some seasoned dispatchers would actually tell you when, "it sounds like you're going to work". Now everything is a UCT alarm and a second source is given anytime the NYPD call taker gets another call for the same incident, regardless of whether there is more information confirming an incident.

Boro centralized dispatch, excellent.

Moving to 11 Meto-tech, seems a little short sighted in this day and age.

UCT, SUCKS!

Rant over...

Edited July 23, 2010 by M' Ave