Some of you will remember that before moving up here to Yellowknife I applied to two different dispatching jobs in Niagara, one with the Parks Police the other with the NF Fire Department.
Here is the audio from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) for the plane crash into the Hudson River.
As Chief Billy Goldfetter says, "Dispatchers are the "first responders"...often well aware of "what we have" before we know we are even going out the door." And, like firefighters, hiring the right folks, training them and providing them with support and supervision can make or break an incident. Sometimes it can make headlines. A Fire dispatch center (or a "911" dispatch center that provides fire dispatch services along with PD and EMS) without strong leadership and aggressive initial and on-going training can be the weakest link. The training of, or the failure to properly train and supervise dispatchers is a critical factor in the entire scope of a FD providing service.
Firefighters also have to have a true understanding of what "the dispatchers" go thru...we can't do that just by listening - some time spent at the dispatch center can be a huge help in understanding. Equally, some time by dispatchers responding on runs in the field with FD units is equally a big deal. Both "sides' training on what "the other" goes thru can pay off big time.
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