State-of-the-art technology lessens response time
County fire department unveils $15 million facility
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

DANIEL WOLOWICZ/Acorn Newspapers DISPATCH CENTER- The recently opened Ventura County Fire Communication Center in Camarillo uses state-of-the-art satellite technology to improve response times for emergency calls. The new 16,000-square-foot facility includes living quarters for the dispatchers who work 24-hour shifts.

Rows of computer servers hum and whir in the airconditioned room on the first floor of the Ventura County Fire Communication Center.

The powerful computers, linked to a state-of-the-art satellite system, comprise the hub of the recently completed emergency dispatch center at the department's headquarters in Camarillo.

On the floor above, a team of dispatchers sits nestled into highback chairs, each facing a bank of five flat-panel computer screens that track the hundreds of incoming emergency phone calls from across the county and the locations of emergency vehicles.

Four enormous television screens stretch across the top of the main dispatch room, monitoring weather, news and available beds in surrounding hospitals.

The three-month-old, 16,000-square-foot facility is a far cry from the first communication system of pinewood telephones used by the department in the early 1930s.

The center uses satellite technology to link the department's 31 fire stations and its fleet of trucks. It's used by the fire departments of every city in the county except Oxnard.

The new facility centralizes the county's dispatch operations from two buildings into one.

Chief Bob Roper and his top lieutenants hosted a ribboncutting ceremony Monday to introduce county and local officials to the $15 million facility that took nearly six years to complete.

"If we can't receive a call and dispatch a call, then the fire trucks don't serve much purpose," Roper said.

The updated technology lessens response time because the satellite tracking system allows dispatchers to send the fire engine nearest the scene to an emergency. Before the new system, calls were routed not to the closest engine crew, but to the fire station assigned to that particular area.

"As we know, time saves lives," Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long said. "And that's what dispatch is all about. . . . This is an investment by the taxpayers to save lives."

As part of the system, each of the department's fire trucks is equipped with onboard computers, giving the responding engine crew a real-time update of the other engines in route to the scene.

That information, officials say, means dispatchers can update residents on when rescue workers are expected to arrive. "That gives residents peace of mind," Roper said.

The county's three ambulance services- American Medical Response, Gold Coast and LifeLine- are also part of the countywide computeraided dispatch system that serves more than 600,000 residents.

To handle the 600 daily calls- more than 200,000 a year- rotating crews of seven dispatchers and one supervisor work 24-hour shifts in what many fire officials say is one of the most stressful jobs in the department.

"I was a firefighter for 31 years. That was easy compared to this," said Tom Kruschke, a department spokesman. Kruschke called the dispatchers the "first line of defense."

Capt. Barry Parker said that during large-scale emergencies such as wildfires, dispatchers will often spend five days at a time working at the communication center.

To help the dispatchers handle the demanding workload, the facility includes a full kitchen, a living room with bigscreen television, a weight room and dorms to sleep 10.

Fire officials traveled to a number of dispatch centers throughout the United States, going as far as the East Coast, to design the county's new facility. In addition to multiple power sources in the event of a major disaster, the computer system runs on redundant lines to assure continuous service.

The new facility received high marks from the visiting county officials.

"The idea that the closest unit is going to go to the incident is the best advance that we've made," Supervisor Linda Parks said. "It works with ambulance and f i r e trucks. To me, t h a t 's the best."