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Structural Collapse Call What kind of information can you give your dispatcher to make your structural collapse call run smoothly? First and foremost, remember the basics in communication we discussed in a prior article. Does your fire department or dispatch center have...

There is no denying that any aspect of emergency services is stressful. Some responders may not recognize dispatchers as being part of the 911 link but in the dispatch community we are often referred to as “the first, first responder”. Many things differ about the...

Training prepares us for situations that we run in to everyday, and even the calls that we would never have expected. In part 1 we learned that knowing what your dispatcher needs to know for rail incidents and the resources they have available ahead of time are tools to make the...

Train emergencies are few and far between but they can range from a single unit response to a large-scale incident. It’s not only important to train for fire ground operations but also dispatch communications. It is beneficial to know about the resources your dispatcher has...

Poison control centers are organizations that are available to the private or public sector. For emergency services, dispatchers are able to use this resource to give pre-arrival instructions to the caller or to relay patient care instructions and treatment recommendations to...

There are many different kinds of calls that responders may request a utility company. A vehicle could have struck a pole, there could wires arcing due to a storm, or a private contractor may have hit a gas line. When you respond to a call that needs electrical, gas, or telephone...

What is the Language Line? Language Line is a private service that many PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points), or dispatch centers, utilize. In the 911 environment, it is a linguist that can identify the language of the caller and translate between the dispatcher and caller when...

BIRs or Brief Initial Reports don’t just inform your fellow responders of what is going on when you arrive. They also let dispatch know what the situation is, who is in charge and what additional resources may be needed upon arrival. Although your dispatcher may have a...

MAYDAYs may not happen often, but when they do the dispatcher and firefighter need to remain calm and revert to their training. It is easy to think that most MAYDAYs are residential or commercial building fires but it can happen on water calls or other rescue assignments too....

Why do you need to tour your PSAP( Public Safety Answering Point) also know as your dispatch center? You can never truly understand someone’s job unless you have had the chance to experience it first hand. Your fire department may have a program where people can do...