New York City Emergency Communications

[x635 4,066]

I have been very confused by how NYC 911 operates nowadays.

For the PD, does the calltaking, from where, and where do they dispatch from? How many calltakers/dispatchers are they running per shift?

Same question for the FD and EMS? Who are their calltakers, where are they housed, and who dispatches them from where?

Also, do EMS Calltakers employ EMD?

I've heard so many stories and so many changes that when someone aks I really don't know how to explain it anymore, llol.

[x129K 1,393]

Also curious about EMD...I know just how ineffective it can be in a small urban environment, I could not imagine how it would be resisted in a larger one.

I am under the impression that 911 goes to the UCT (unified call takers?) and they then shunt it to police, fire, or EMS...although mostly the wrong agency from what i have read..

[irishfire2491 24]

I would Love to know how it works myself, more so on the PD side and we get alot of 911 transfers from NYPD for other agencys in Westchester to Rockland County to Putnam County to as far as Bufflo. However I love when the call and ask Westchester County do you patrol this another County. (Will someone buy them a map of NY please)

[FD347 21]

I'll try to explain the system in a nutshell but it's going to be a pretty big shell, and it's definitely nuts.

NYC 911 was located for years in 1 Police Plaza in lower Manhattan. In the mid-1990's they were kicked out and moved to downtown Brooklyn, Metrotech. They have 2 basic functions, call taker and radio dispatcher. Depending on the time of day they can have 60-80 call takers working at once. They also have over 2 dozen radio positions that operate on a 24 hour basis. Between 911 operators, radio dispatchers, relief personnel, supervisors and other uniforms there are about 200 people on duty at a time. Their civil service title is Police Communications Technician: http://www.nyc.gov/h...1202013000.pdf. Their CADS is custom written and they call it SPRINT.

NYC*EMS (as it was known before the hostile takeover) was located in Maspeth, Queens, until the late 1990's. A sinkhole formed under their building forcing them to move out in a hurry. For a while they operated from a double-wide trailer in their parking lot before they too were moved into Metrotech, 2 blocks from 911. Their dispatchers and call receiving operators are EMTs (http://www.nyc.gov/h...01202004000.pdf) and their supervisors (lieutenants and captains) are medics (http://www.nyc.gov/h...00808501000.pdf). Their CADS is also custom written but I don't know if it has a name.

FDNY had (past tense) 5 central offices, one to each borough prior to 2003. Most of you probably know the history but the basic stuff is here: http://www.fdnewyork.com/article.asp.

Also in the late 1990's the fire department (now fully taken over by NYC*EMS) decided to decentralize the EMS dispatching facility and put them in the 5 FDNY central offices.

Then came 9/11, Mayor billionaire and his scheme to integrate the entire operation, all 3 services , into 1 operation, 1 job title, 1 agency outside of FDNY and NYPD. His grand scheme was to create 2 new facilities, PSAC's, put half the city in each one.

We're about half way there now in PSAC 1. Look for a completely new system to be in place in the next 3 to 10 years depending on how long they can delay the construction of PSAC 2 and the creation of the next CADS that can do all 3 jobs. (We're already in the selection phase and the scuttlebutt says it's just a formality, they're going with Intergraph because NYPD already contracted with them.)

You can glean more information by using your favorite search engine and entering the phrase NYC ECTP.

The current system looks like this: Bronx and Queens fire dispatch are still located in their respective FDNY central offices. The Bronx CO was remodeled so it can handle Manhattan fire dispatch should we have to evacuate PSAC 1. Similarly, Queens was remodeled to handle Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The rest of the entire operation, 911, EMS and Brooklyn-Manhattan-SI fire dispatch are in PSAC 1.

The flow of a 911 call hasn't changed much. Under the old system, if the caller reported a police matter, the police operator handled the call and sent it to their dispatcher.

If the caller reported a medical emergency, the police operator interrogated the caller to ascertain the basics of the medical emergency, then patched the call to the EMS dispatch office for triage and ambulance dispatch. If the caller reported a fire, NYPD patched the call, before asking any questions, to the Fire Department central office of the borough in which the call originated.

Under the new scheme that is not fully implemented yet, there will be no transfer of the call. The 911 operator will ascertain the location, perform medical triage and provide pre-arrival instructions for EMS and fire, then route the info to the respective dispatcher.

I will not comment publicly about the new scheme because I have nothing positive to say about it. 'nuff said?

So... how's that for a nutshell?

Frank Raffa

Supv. Dispatcher, FDNY

Borough of Brooklyn

www.FDNewYork.com

Edited December 8, 2011 by FD347

[ny10570 745]

Just for how simple Frank made such a complicated mess sound everyone needs to give him a rep point.

the EMS CAD is officially "F***ing Piece of S**t CAD". Its a cumbersome name, so we just call it the EMS CAD.

Yes, EMS has their own algorithm for assigning priority to each call. We also give pre-arrival instructions to all callers willing to stay on the line. In fact we were advocating hands only CPR for years before the AHA came out with the current standard. Simply because as soon as we got to the mouth to mouth part we'd usually lose the caller.

[nfd2004 750]

Thanks very much Frank for that Excellent Report. I appreciate that also. May the Brooklyn C.O Rest in Peace.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12533995@NO2/sets/72157603941305234/

Edited December 8, 2011 by x635

[JBE 328]

Since my colleague from across the floor at 11 MT won't comment on the new system, I will. IT STINKS!!!! The present NYPD 911 call takers couldn't dispatch themselves out of a wet paper bag. I could go on for a week about all the mistakes they make. That isn't including spelling. POSS HASS MACK!!!! Need I go on?? The BS filter that was the FDNY Alarm Receipt Dispatcher has been removed almost entirely from the equation. So, FDNY units are going out for more and more BS runs, which shows productivity, and keeps firehouses open.

PD Radio has one dispatcher for each "Zone", which encompasses 2 or 3 precincts in each borough. The only exception is SI where it's one dispatcher for the borough. That's not including Citywide, SOD, or Transit.

EMS has 3 Dispatchers for Manhattan, 2 for the Bronx, 2 for Queens, 3 for Brooklyn, and 1 for SI. They have 2 Citywide, and 2 on the Liason desk. I think EMS has 15 or 20 Call takers, and they are all obviously, EMD certified.

The working conditions here are deplorable. No parking, no facilities for us to rest in between tours with people working consistent 16 or 18 hour tours, no kitchen. Overcrowded bathroom. Morale is at an all time low. But, as usual, we make it work.

PS, lot of familiar faces in that slide show, Willy.

Edited December 8, 2011 by JBE

[grumpyff 1,159]

Since my colleague from across the floor at 11 MT won't comment on the new system, I will. IT STINKS!!!! The present NYPD 911 call takers couldn't dispatch themselves out of a wet paper bag. I could go on for a week about all the mistakes they make. That isn't including spelling. POSS HASS MACK!!!! Need I go on?? The BS filter that was the FDNY Alarm Receipt Dispatcher has been removed almost entirely from the equation. So, FDNY units are going out for more and more BS runs, which shows productivity, and keeps firehouses open.

The working conditions here are deplorable. No parking, no facilities for us to rest in between tours with people working consistent 16 or 18 hour tours, no kitchen. Overcrowded bathroom. Morale is at an all time low. But, as usual, we make it work.

Sounds like the NYPD. Now you know why I like to battle dispatchers, but that is for another thread. I did get to sit with both 911 call takers and PD dipatchers about 4 years ago. The call takers got the basic info for the call and then forwarded to the PD dipatcher via computer. When I say basic, it was real brief, almost to the point that you were shocked at how little they got.

Edited December 8, 2011 by grumpyff

[IzzyEng4 427]

Thanks for the info Frank, and also thank you for showing me around the old Brooklyn CO when I came down a few years ago. It was an honor and a privilege. - Joe N.

[ny10570 745]

That is exactly why I don't call 911 unless its a PD request. I have each fire and EMS phone number. It may take a few more seconds, but its so much faster that trying to talk to the UCT idiots.

[JBE 328]

Sounds like the NYPD. Now you know why I like to battle dispatchers, but that is for another thread. I did get to sit with both 911 call takers and PD dipatchers about 4 years ago. The call takers got the basic info for the call and then forwarded to the PD dipatcher via computer. When I say basic, it was real brief, almost to the point that you were shocked at how little they got.

Yes, they do get the basic info, but it is usually more than FDNY needs. I can understand as a cop, you would need certain things like description of perp, color of car, stuff like that. FDNY really doesn't. All they need is the Box Number, the address, where the incident is in the building. Example, Smoke 3 Flr, Clr 3A. And if there's CIDS you get it on the ticket. It's become pretty ridiculous trying to translate over the past two years. I'm a firm believer in changing the system back to the way it was, so we can properly interrogate callers. Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

[Alwaysinheat 26]

UCT dispatch is a bunch of bull as it currently exists. On the fire side when we are originally dispatched by the UCT dispatcher, we are now given about 15-30 letters to remember that signify the type of incident we will be responding too. B/c writting FIRE M/D is too time consuming.

Now not to cause problems with my friends on the blue team. But UCT dispatchers should just be called PO's since they are supervised by PD brass and directed to delay calls. Proven by listening to radios and by those that work there.

[16fire5 693]

My personal favorite is how many tickets you get that say fire in a Private Dwelling Apt. 13D 13 Floor. Which I figure is because the caller who lives in public housing referes to their abode as their house. Our Fire Alarm Dispatchers would filter this information for us and give us a ticket that makes sense.