A convincing argument to go to 60 Control?

[ems-buff 81]

Before I say anything . I personally want my EMS department to go to 60. Now my Dilemma is that I need some interesting facts Why it is good to go to 60. Now I know that we would automatically get mutual aid. Plus automatic dispatch to I95 incidents. Now I also said that 60 is a lot more organize (i.e. dispatch times when ever you request it.) What I want to know is what else is there that I can use to persuade my higher her ups to go to 60?

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I don't work there....but in my opinion the reasons:

Organizational reasoning as stated, as well as an organized group that does Fire/EMS dispatching.

EMD for your residents to get pre-arrival instructions when needed.

Computer Aided Dispatch along with the new Fire RMS program that gives you access to the calls and great data input to track trends and tons of other data.

[GOYANKEES 0]

Before I say anything . I personally want my EMS department to go to 60. Now my Dilemma is that I need some interesting facts  Why it is good to go to 60. Now I know that we would automatically get mutual aid. Plus automatic dispatch to I95 incidents. Now I also said that 60 is a lot more organize (i.e. dispatch times when ever you request it.) What I want to know is what else is there that  I can use to persuade my higher her ups to go to 60?

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Have you talked to your "higher ups" about the future ? It is possible that you are not aware of what the future holds for your agency. It is also possible that your "higher ups" already have a plan in the works, just not sharing it at this time with the "lower downs"

[ems-buff 81]

Have you talked to your "higher ups" about the future ?  It is possible that you are not aware of what the future holds for your agency. It is also possible that your "higher ups"  already have a plan in the works, just not sharing it at this time with the "lower downs"

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yes I have and they said give me a convincing arguments and I may think about it so to answer your question yes I have. And what the future holds is that we will stay with stay with PD dispatching us. It’s ok but I would prefer someone who’s job it is answering 911 calls where if one dispatcher is busy answering a 911 call the other is dispatching the bus or what ever the case maybe . Where it is not just one person doing all the work of answering the phones and sending out sector car, then dispatching an fire truck or an ambulance then picking up the phone again because of god know what else. Where as at 60 I think you have 5 dispatcher on any given day maybe more if the day is busy enough.

and as for the lower down as you said. No decision is made without a vote by our memebership. So i need to convince all these people with facts and well thought out ideas

[x242Steve 1]

Thats our inappropriate comment of the night, ladies and gentlemen! Stick around for the 9:30 show, its always different than the 8:30 show!

:angry:

[Guest]

Just remember, when Mamaroneck EMS needs a driver and the PD pages repeatedly over and over again.  60 Control won't do that...

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Ever listen to one of the VACs in the northern county? Mohegan, Peekskill, Cortlandt? They tone out for drivers all the time. Sometimes multiple times. From what I've seen/heard. As long as you ask for it, 60 has no problem sending out additional tones for manpower, drivers, emts, or whatever

[Guest]

Just remember, when Mamaroneck EMS needs a driver and the PD pages repeatedly over and over again.  60 Control won't do that...

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Are you kidding, they do it all the time. Listen to the radio and you'll hear some depts recieve multible pages for drivers or crew and so on......

[RichC 0]

Wow; Things got derailed from the original post on why or why not 60.

To return to that question: Another way to look at it is for the sake of uniformity, why not go to 60 as has most everyone else. There were a few initial issues but where I am in Rye its worked out OK. Port Chester went over to 60 just prior to us and I think they reported the same experience. Some early on problems, then OK.

Our career FF's asigned to the Ladder did the dispatching on general alarms and were trained in dispatching and some did seem to enjoy doing it. As a department you give up some individuality when you give up self-dispatch but as I said going to 60 has worked out satisfactorily. Looking forward, you can program the system at 60 so that certain responses at some spots or times of day warrant a MA reponse to fill out the assignent. I think we have just barely scratched the surface of the possibilities in dispatch.

[Guest]

I think 60 is a good idead for Fire Depts as far as EMS it is a bad idea this is from experience you cannot dispatch EMS the same as Fire when I was in New Rochelle Amb 1 and 2 would constantly pass each other on main street They also didnt believe in Redirecting to a higher priority call Many times i would be 3 blocks from a higher priority job and the other bus was comming from a greater distance i would advise 60 and the answer was always the same "UNIT continue to YOUR assignment there is a Ambulance enroute. I am not knocking 60-Control by any means I firmly believe that We in Westchester NEED a cohesive system I am just saying that our way of operating is not the same I think the answer is we should have EMS personel doing it we need a centralized system linked by CAD of course this will never happen We are to fragmented and no one wants to give up control and I also believe that no one really thinks we are as Important as the other 2 services. Sorry for rambling but I am a firm believer in PARITY for EMS isnt your family members pain and suffering just as important as being robbed or your house burning?? I have total respect for P.D and F.D. isnt it time that our profesion gets the same?............................

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Wow nothing like statements that no one exactly knows the answer to or apparantely pays attention.

60 Control will not do what you do not advise them to do. So if you need to page our for personnel, that is what they will do if you set it up as your dispatch protocol.

Secondly, I have had no problems with them dispatching EMS. Who else is there that is better, the PD's? No EMD, 100 other things to do etc. They dispatch as the CAD directs them, and they will not assign you other calls and often will tell you that is your discretion. Now that EMD is more in place maybe that will change.

[IzzyEng4 427]

I worked in CT for a regional Dispatch center that was a C-MED, and dipatched for 4 municiple FD's and 5 Municiple EMS agencies. Those specific agencies we direct dispatched, we gave EMD and also provided mutual aid if there was not crew available on 1st and mutiple calls. A single agaency can do it but the problem is going to arise about how busy you are. Besides the 5 direct dispatch agencies, we also coordinated EMS ops for 15 other towns and hospital to unit communications for all in our region and incoming units to area hospitals and Lifestar. When I left there last year, we were at 90,000 plus calls we had handeled in one way shape of form. The trouble was we would run day and evening shifts with 3 to four people and overnights two to three. Plus too we also were taking on some special regional services as well at the time. One you start adding more and more, you have to ad more and more personnel. Especially if your EMDing a patient.

The bigger you get and especially how busy your county is, you have to make sure that the personnel you have now will be able to handle the call volume and also the "juggling" to say of the different agencies. I think you all will have an easier time since you really have a county system in place there. Out here in CT there is no county government and usually the towns pay into a regional system but funding is very limited.

[roeems87 0]

Many times i would be 3 blocks from a higher priority job and the other bus was comming from a greater distance i would advise 60 and the answer was always the same "UNIT continue to YOUR assignment there is a Ambulance enroute. I am not knocking 60-Control by any means I firmly believe that We in Westchester NEED a cohesive system

60-Control is COMMUNICATIONS, that's all. They will do what you tell them and advise you of what they know. Their job is not supervisory. If you tell them, "57B1 to 60, I'll be taking the job on Main Street, I'm two minutes away, you can have 57B2 disreguard or take in the job on [blah]," they will respond with "10-4, 57B2 do you copy?" Their purpose is to keep track of where people are and dispatch, not to tell you what to do... They do their job and do an excellent job of that, moreso than any PD would do simply because they don't have the time or ability to keep track the same way.

As for a cohesive system... what other entity in this county would be more able to be a "cohesive" body for EMS dispatching than county control (in addition to their EMD and training in dispatching)?

By the way, I believe the only time the New Ro ambulances were known as ambulance 1 and 2 was when they were dispatched by NRPD... which incidentally, those dispatchers are typically supervisors as well...

(someone correct me if anything I have said is not correct)