VISTA, Calif.—Spiking fuel costs will soon change firefighter responses in the San Diego County community of Vista, where huge fire trucks will stop rolling on every emergency call.A new “priority dispatch system” will determine if those big engines are needed on calls. Fire Chief Gary Fisher says dispatchers at the North County Dispatch Joint Powers Authority are now being trained.
Currently, firefighter and paramedics crews respond to all emergency 911 medical-aid calls. The priority system has dispatchers asking 911 callers a series of questions to determine the amount of emergency personnel needed.
Fisher says Vista has already spent $85,000 to fuel its fleet this fiscal year, which compares to $65,000 last year.
WestCoast 911 news source: North County Times
WC911 commentary - It’s interesting to see the wave of fire departments converting to EMD and priority dispatching. Although it is something that has been around for many years, it seems that it has been more of a cost and call volume driven conversion rather than a move towards improving service.
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