SR-011309-8B~~o
~;tYo, City Council Report
Santa Monicsi
City Council Meeting: January 13, 2009
Agenda Item: _~rj
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Jim Hone, Fire Department
Subject: Fire Dispatch Comparative Study and Recommendations
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to terminate the fire
dispatch agreement with the City of Los Angeles as soon as practical and to reactivate
the Fire Department Dispatch Center in the Public Safety Facility with Santa Monica
Fire Department dispatchers. Staff further recommends that the City Council approve
the actual appropriations to initiate the process as part of the 2008/09 Midyear report
and the FY 2009/10 budget.
Executive Summary
The City contracted the services of GeoComm to perform a comprehensive study and
make recommendations as to the most efficient means of providing and delivering fire
dispatch and communications services to the community. After evaluating all viable fire
department dispatching configurations, staff is recommending the reactivation of the fire
department dispatch center in the Public Safety Facility with Santa Monica Fire
Department (SMFD) dispatchers. The report explains the issues brought forward by
GeoComm's research, the reasons for their recommendations and the budget impacts
involved with reactivating the SMFD Dispatch Center. The total cost for reactivation and
continued operation of the SMFD Dispatch Center is still being analyzed, but is
estimated to be approximately $1.7 million in one-time costs and $1.2 million in on-
going operational costs. Reactivation of the Dispatch Center will require amid-year
budget appropriation and will impact the Citywide FY2009/10 General Fund budget. As
additional information is refined staff will continue to report back to Council.
Background
Up until January 2007, the SMFD dispatched its own fire resources from a dedicated
Communications Center located at the Public Safety Facility. The center relied on
inadequate staffing levels to meet service demands and outdated communications
equipment that consistently failed to perform and for which it was increasingly difficult to
acquire replacement parts.
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To address deficiencies and determine the best method of emergency dispatch, the
department conducted an in-depth evaluation of the existing system compared to other
methods of service delivery. This evaluation concluded with a recommendation to join a
regional dispatch center.
On January 23, 2007, the SMFD entered into a contract with the. Los Angeles City Fire
Department Regional Dispatch Center (OCD) to provide emergency dispatch services.
Due to unresolved operational issues associated with OCD, on June 17, 2008, Council
directed SMFD/staff to conduct an analysis of alternative dispatching and
communication system options available to the City and report back by mid-year with
recommendations.
Following a competitive process, the City contracted with GeoComm to initiate a
comprehensive evaluation of the fire dispatch operations at OCD and to conduct a
comparative study of other fire dispatch options to provide effective and efficient
services to fire personnel and the community. The other fire dispatch options evaluated.
included: continuing to contract with OCD, dispatch by the SMPD, SMFD dispatchers
co-located in the SMPD dispatch center, forming a West Side regional dispatch center
with Beverly Hills and Culver City, and reactivating the SMFD dispatch center with
SMFD dispatchers.
In October 2008, GeoComm representatives met with the City Manager and his staff,
SMFD staff and Santa Monica Firefighters Local 1109 members. Additionally, meetings
were held with LAFD staff, OCD, Santa Monica Information Services Department (ISD)
staff, SMPD Chief of Police, SMPD dispatch personnel and representatives from
Beverly Hills and Culver City Fire Departments. GeoComm staff visited all Santa
Monica fire stations and work sites and one evening was spent at fire stations doing
ride-alongs and talking to on-duty SMFD members. Additional data and information was
gathered through meetings and site visits with staff from SMFD, SMPD and ISD.
2
In November 2008, GeoComm met with the SMFD and ISD to present their preliminary
findings. The preliminary findings were:
1. OCD provides LAFD with an adequate level of service for their current staffing
levels and volume of emergency response and radio traffic
2. SMFD desires a higher level of fire dispatch services than OCD can provide now or
in the near future.
3. Reactivating the SMFD Dispatch Center in the Public Safety Facility with SMFD
dispatchers is the preferred option to provide the desired level of fire dispatch
services.
On December 9, 2008, staff provided the City Council with a status update of the fire
dispatch comparative study and the consultant's preliminary recommendation to
reactivate the fire dispatch center in the Public Safety Facility.
Discussion
GeoComm conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the fire dispatch operations at
OCD ahd a comparative study of other fire dispatch options to provide effective and
efficient services to fire personnel and the- Santa Monica community. GeoComm's
findings are:
1. The decision to contract with the City of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) for
dispatch services was based on .many logical assumptions and fiscal
considerations and was in keeping with a national trend to consolidate resource
control in the larger metropolitan areas of the United States.
2. LAFD did offer superior technology in certain areas, access to a well organized fire
communications center, and greatly expanded disaster and major incident
coordination.
3: A number of issues have surfaced which cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of
the SMFD such as:
a. Not unlike most large urban public safety dispatch centers, the LAFD needs
more fire dispatchers on duty to manage the volume of phone and radio
traffic. This lack of adequate staffing creates instances of incoming 911 call
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saturation which may take several minutes before they are answered and
occur during the busiest times of the day forcing the call into the hold busy
queue.
b. The emergency call volume at LAFD is very high and the resulting amount of
traffic on their radio channels leads to multiple occurrences each day of
"saturation" where a firefighter or a paramedic cannot get air time to speak to
the dispatcher. There are several documented instances where SMFD
personnel have needed additional units but were not able to make the request
or the request for assistance was delayed.
c. The LAFD is providing dispatch services for another agency for the first time
and experiences continuing challenges in adapting their automated systems
to work with two separate agencies. For example, dispatching LAFD
resources to a duplicate address in the City of Los Angeles instead of sending
a SMFD unit to the actual emergency incident in the City of Santa Monica.
d. There are several unresolved technical issues including: the need for a direct
ring down line from the SMPD to OCD; the inability of the-LAFD computer
system to provide specific apartment and building numbers when the call. is
announced through the automated voice dispatch system; and the failure of
the LAFD computer system to simultaneously send two separate emergency
calls to the same station (called "dual dispatch error"). The LAFD computer
system is only capable of sending the first emergency .dispatch and the
second emergency dispatch is blocked requiring LAFD dispatchers to
manually rekey the computer to send that alarm to the fire station. These
situations always result in a delay for the fire engine or rescue ambulance and
create a liability exposure for the City.
e. LAFD splits their Fire emergency and Medical emergency incidents onto two
separate radio channels. This is necessary for them to manage the large
volume of calls that they process each day. However, it creates major
challenges for SMFD personnel who frequently monitor two or more radio
channels at all times. For example, a SMFD unit may be clearing a fire
emergency and they will be unaware of a medical emergency occurring two
blocks away.
4. GeoComm believes that the LAFD cannot make further substantive changes to
their system in sufficient time to meet the needs of the City of Santa Monica and
that other changes are impossible to make based on the technology currently in
use by the LAFD or their operating procedures.
5. Equally important is the philosophical difference between Santa Monica Fire
Department operations and the LAFD operations. LAFD is a very large and
modern fire rescue organization staffed with more than 3,500 employees operating
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from 106 fire stations. The LAFD communications center processes more than
1,300 emergency calls every day. Because of the sheer size of their organization,
LAFD dispatchers can assign multiple units to each emergency call without
concern that this maximum response will deplete their inventory of available units.
LAFD dispatchers do not have the time to gather critical information on each fire
emergency call nor do they need to gather this information because their
emergency response system. is so quick that units will arrive in just a few minutes.
However, the City of Santa Monica has a limited supply of emergency response
units and needs to insure that the correct number and type of units are sent to
each incident. Fire department units are also more efficient and better prepared
when they have detailed information about the incident prior to their arrival. This
data will help determine if additional units need to be added to the call or if some
responding units can be canceled. It even helps firefighters make decisions about
how close to park at an incident (i.e: is the emergency a gas leak or a heart
attack).
6. GeoComm met with representatives of the Culver City Fire Department and the
Beverly Hills Fire Department to talk about a possible joint dispatch system with
the City of Santa Monica. Both agencies expressed interest and believed that it
would greatly enhance emergency response on the West Side. However, both
agencies also advised that their cities had recently expended considerable funds to
upgrade their existing communications. centers and that this was not the time to
discuss a change. This issue clearly needs to be revisited with both :cities in the
next two or three years.
7. GeoComm met with various representatives of the SMPD, including the Chief of
Police, to discuss co-location or direct provision of-fire dispatch. services. While
there is interest in further discussing the concept and operations of the fire
dispatch system, the SMPD is currently working through a set of issues relating to
the hiring and retention of staff in its communications center. Everyone was in
agreement that the police department communications center could not undertake
a .major program addition until their staffing situation has been fully resolved.
SMPD staff is currently working on a revised hiring and selection process as well
as conducting an internal review of their training program. It is believed that it will
take approximately two years to fully resolve this issue.
Additionally, GeoComm collected and analyzed data obtained from surveys completed
by SMFD and SMPD staff which indicates the following:
1. Several SMFD personnel indicated that the current LAFD dispatch system is not
providing satisfactory or quality service to the citizens of the City.
2. Several SMFD personnel indicated that they have personally experienced delays
or other problems under the new dispatch arrangement with LAFD.
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3. Many SMFD personnel acknowledge improved mobile computer and radio
technology installed to facilitate the switch to OCD.
4. Many SMFD personnel felt that they would not get reliable dispatch information
from the LAFD dispatcher due to the volume of emergency calls each dispatcher is
handling.
5. Several SMPD dispatchers reported issues with LAFD dispatchers understanding
Santa Monica streets, businesses, and landmarks, which result in the delayed
processing of calls within the City.
6. Several SMPD dispatchers reported problems with LAFD being slow to answer
ringing 911 lines during the busy hours of the afternoon.
In order for the City to achieve the higher level of service that it desires, GeoComm
recommends terminating the fire dispatch agreement with the City of Los Angeles as
soon as practical and reactivating the fire department's dispatch center as a first step
toward enhancing the SMFD's efficiency and reliability. Reactivating SMFD's dispatch
center in the Public Safety Facility will allow the City to better control deployment of
emergency units, eliminate certain delays in emergency response, and position itself to
make future changes to further enhance public safety. Staff concurs with this
recommendation.
GeoComm and staff estimate a nine month period to purchase necessary equipment,
hire and train personnel and perform system evaluations to execute an effective
reactivation of the SMFD Dispatch Center in the Public Safety Facility.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The cost for the. reactivation and continued operation of the SMFD Dispatch Center is
estimated to be approximately $2:9 million, consisting of $1.7 million in one-time
implementation costs and $1.2 million in annual on-going operating costs. Funds
totaling $305,000 are available in the Fire Department Radio Infrastructure CIP
accounts (account numbers M010594-589000 and M020594.589000) to fund a portion
of the one-time costs.
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Additionally, a portion of the annual ongoing .costs will be defrayed by funds
appropriated for payment to LAFD Regional Dispatch 2009/10 budget plan estimated to
be $632,457.
The preliminary cost estimates are based on information available at this time.
Additional review and analysis are being conducted to vet and refine final cost estimates
and staff will return to Council with more specific information as cost estimates are
refined: Given the impact of deteriorating economic conditions in the City's budget, the
additional cost of reactivating the dispatch function will impact delivery of other services,
which will be reflected in the proposed FY2009/10 budget.
Specific recommendations for budget appropriations will be inGuded in the FY2008/09
Midyear Report and FY2009/10 Budget.
Prepared by:
Bruce Davis, Deputy Fire Chief
Approved•
Forwarded to Council:
Fire Department `City Manager
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JN Y 20
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Santa Monica Fire .Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Geo-Comm Public Safety Consulting
601 West St. Germain Street
St. Cloud, Minneapolis
This document is in Advance Release Status and has been provided at the request of
the City of Santa Monica prior to the completion of the Final Report. The contents of this
report have been reviewed by the Santa Monica Fire Department staff. The Final
Report will only contain formatting and presentation changes and will be provided to the
City in both hard copy and-soft copy versions.
January 7, 2009
r JAN 1 3 2009
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a. ,anta Monica Fire Department
~~_.~ ~-°Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Background 5
Scope of Service 6'
Methodology 6
State & National Standards 7
Best Practice Evaluation 9
Agency Survey 9
Agency Interviews 10
Communications Center Configurations 10
Evaluation of Options 11
LAFD/OCD 11
Santa Monica PD 13
Co-Location with SMPD 13
SMFD Center 14
West Side Cities Center 14
Electronic Consolidation 15
Analysis 15
Move Dispatch Operations 15
Fire Dispatch Configuration 16
Technology 16
Implementation Recommendations 17
Facility 17
Personnel Recruitment & Hiring 17
Training 19
911 System & Telephone 21
Computer Aided Dispatch System 22
Radio System & Interoperability 23
Fire Station Alerting System 26
Emergency Medical Dispatch 27
Quality Assurance & Best Practices 27
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Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Executive Summary
Geo-Comm Public Safety Consulting has completed a four month evaluation of the 911
and dispatch operations of the Santa Monica Fire Department. The team evaluated four
communications center configuration options that were provided by the City and has
concluded that the City should reactivate the Santa Monica Fire Department
Communications Center.
This initial step will restore fire department emergency dispatch control to the City, will
resolve several problems that are currently impacting service delivery to the public and
will position to the City to make other changes over the next three to five years to further
efficiency, cost sharing, and productivity. This recommendation is based on a review of
four other dispatch service models, (continue with LAFD/OCD, contract with SMPD for
service, co-locate FD personnel in the PD Communications Center or open a joint
communications operation with Beverly Hills and Culver City).
A review of the LAFD/OCD dispatch center determined that they provide adequate
service to their own agency and process more than 1,300 emergency calls each day.
However, a variety of factors are preventing the SMFD from realizing the full efficiency
of this regional model. Since more than 95% of the emergency call volume is for LAFD
units, all dispatch and operational policies are strictly created and assigned by LAFD.
The needs of a large, ultra-urban agency like LAFD do not currently match the needs of
the City of Santa Monica. There are also several technical issues. which have not been
resolved which result in the delayed dispatch of emergency calls in the City of Santa
Monica. Survey results from SMFD and SMPD personnel all confirmed that the current
dispatch arrangement with LAFD has deficiencies which are preventing the fire
department from providing an acceptable level of service.
A review of the Santa Monica Police Department Dispatch Center indicated a modern
and well equipped facility with sufficiently allocated management, supervisory and
dispatch staff. However, there is currently a serious staffing shortage that is being
addressed by the police department. Adequate staffing assignments are being
maintained through the use of overtime and utilization of other police department
personnel who are cross trained to support the communications center.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
A discussion with Chief Jackman determined that a co-located or co-managed
environment was not acceptable to the police department. This configuration is also not
preferred by the Geo-Comm team due to the inherent difficulties with split personnel
and management assignments
A meeting with representatives of Beverly Hills and Culver City found support for a
regional fire communications operation. However, both cities have recently started
significant technology upgrades in their respective police department communication
centers and indicated that there would not be any support for a change at this time.
Based on a review of all of the issues and a study of the current dispatch services, it is
recommended that the City make a planned transition back to a SMFD communications
center as soon as practical. This statement is made with the realization that it will take
approximately nine to twelve months to accomplish the transition.
The team then conducted an assessment of required personnel, training and equipment
to enable a transition of fire dispatch services back to the SMFD. The City is fortunate
that almost all of the technology in the fire departments old dispatch center was
maintained in a "near ready" state. The City is also fortunate to have a number of very
talented personnel who provided excellent information on a variety of technical matters.
Additional cost savings will be achieved since much of the initial cost for the LAFD
transition was for new technology and equipment installed on SMFD apparatus and will
remain functional after the SMFD Communications Center is reactivated.
While there is still a need for some final budget issues to be worked out, the estimated
cost for the City to reactivate the SMFD Communications Center is estimated at
$ 3,110,000 in one time funding and $ 1,147,300 in recurring costs. These figures are
based on the joint creation of a budget model which was started and facilitated by
Geo-Comm staff but led and overseen by the City.
This report details a number of recommendations that are designed to insure a
successful transition of fire dispatch functions back to the City of Santa Monica.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Background
The City of Santa Monica operates a modern and well equipped fire department which
provides a full range of emergency services. SMFD also provides a variety of advanced
services that are not typical of an agency its size including Hazmat Response, Aircraft
Rescue and Firefighting, and participation in the USAR program. Prior to 2007, the
SMFD operated its own fire communications center. A single dispatcher was on duty at
a time operating with aging radio equipment and other technologies that were limited in
application and were becoming unreliable.
In 2005, SMFD conducted an internal assessment of its dispatch options and concluded
that the best course of action would be to contract with the City of Los Angeles Fire
Department for its communications service. This change was based on a review of
LAFD's operations, statistical performance, fiscal considerations, and was in keeping
with a nationwide movement to consolidate emergency dispatch functions either
physically or electronically in the twenty-five largest urban areas of the country. In fact,
USAI grant funds were used to help pay for the cost of new equipment and services to
help facilitate the transition.
Following a lengthy and well planned transition to the LAFD dispatch center problems
surfaced which were brought to the attention of LAFD management. While some of the
problems were to be expected during a transition of this type, others were neither
expected or could have been predicted. These included problems with merging Santa
Monica operations into the LAFD computer system (which had never been done
before), the need to substantially change SMFD dispatch responses to match the LAFD
computerized dispatch matrix, and the impact that LAFD's Emergency Medical Dispatch
(EMD) program would have on SMFD responses. Following a year of continued
conversations and meetings with LAFD, the Santa Monica Fire Chief brought the issue
to the City Councils attention and received direction to study additional options. As that
internal process was being reviewed, the Fire Department asked for permission to
engage a professional consulting firm to help with the assessment.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Scope of Service
In July of this year the City of Santa Monica issued a formal RFP to evaluate the current
dispatch system and various options available to the SMFD. The City provided a list of
ten dispatch configuration options that were analyzed in 2005. The City also provided a
list of tasks and deliverables which were incorporated into a formal contractual
agreement between Geo-Comm and the City which was executed on September 25,
2008.
Methodolopy
In order to fulfill its obligation to the City, Geo-Comm assigned a team of experienced
public safety practitioners to work on this project. The team included a retired Fire Chief
from the City of Lenexa, Kansas, a Division Chief from the Orange County (Florida) Fire
Rescue Department, a Fire Communications Officer from the Miami Dade County Fire
Department and a communications project manager from the Mid-America Regional
Council (MARC). All of the team members have extensive public safety
communications experience at the local, state and national level and two of the team
members currently manage large fire communication centers.
Interviews were conducted with all SMFD chief officers, the IAFF Local Union president,
the SMPD Chief and managers of the SMPD Communications Center, multiple chief
officers at LAFD, dozens of staff interviews and meetings with firefighters at fire
stations.
Operations were observed at the SMPD Communications Center and the LAFD OCD
dispatch center. An inspection was also conducted at the Franklin radio tower site, Fire
Station 3 radio system and the dormant SMFD Communications Center. Various
documents provided by the City were reviewed, including budgetary information, City
Council staff reports, LAFD personnel assignments, USAI grant papers, and the current
inter-local agreement between the City of Santa Monica and LAFD. Internal SMFD
quality assurance reports were reviewed and were compared with interviews of SMFD
personnel and direct observations made while riding with SMFD units as well as
observations at LAFD/OCD.
Follow up interviews were conducted several times with Fire Chief Jim Hone, Deputy
Fire Chief Bruce Davis and IAFF Local Union President Brad Lomas.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/04
State & National Standards
A variety of applicable state and national standards were reviewed to insure that the
report recommendations were in keeping with both required and recommended
standards as well as acknowledged best practices.
ISO Standards
The Insurance Services Office measures the overall efficiency of firefighting
operations through a number of inspections, including the fire communications
center. They publish a report which assigns a numerical rating from one to ten
for each fire department reviewed. This ISO rating is given to assist insurance
companies in assigning an appropriate insurance premium based on risk. The
main focus of ISO is on equipment necessary to process an emergency call.
ISO defers to the applicable NFPA standard for dispatch center staffing.
NFPA 1221 Standards
The National Fire Protection Association has formalized a Standard 1221 for the
operation of fire communications centers. The current version of this standard is
the 2007 edition. There are several sections of the standard which are directly
applicable to this project. Section 7.3 of this standard speaks to staffing
requirements in a public safety communications center. Section 7.3.2 states that
a communications center using dispatch protocols must have a minimum of two
telecommunicators on duty at all times. StafFing provisions and patterns must
also allow the Center to meet the performance requirements listed in Section 7.4,
which includes a requirement that 95% of all 911 calls be answered in less than
fifteen seconds and 95% of all emergency calls will be dispatched in less than
sixty seconds. Section 7.44 requires that the Santa Monica police department
PSAP performance be measured to insure compliance with a thirty second
transfer requirement on 95% of the fire and EMS calls. Section 9.1.31 requires
two separate dispatch circuits (methods) for agencies processing more than 750
calls annually. This standard should be achieved with a new fire station alerting
system that will send the initial alert to each fire station via the computer IP
network, will monitor the receipt of the alert, and - if necessary -send the alert
over the radio system to the fire station -thus meeting the two circuit/method
rule. A 2009 version of this NFPA standard has been completed but not
published. We have reviewed the 2009 version changes to insure that our
recommendations are in keeping with the newest revisions. The most significant
change that will occur with the formal adoption of the 2009 edition is in the area
of emergency call processing. The standard has been relaxed from a 95%
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
compliance for call processing through dispatch to a 90% compliance
requirement. The new language will state that 90% of emergency alarm
processing shall be completed within sixty seconds and 99% of emergency alarm
processing shall be completed within 90 seconds.
NFPA 1061 Standard
The National Fire Protection Association has formalized a Standard 1061 titled
"Standard for Professional Qualification of Public Safety Telecommunicator"
which includes required training curriculum.
California State 911 Standards
The State of California has formalized standards on the operation of all 911
systems including efficiency standards on how quickly a 911 call should be
answered. The State 911 Operations Manual includes the following information:
Call Answer Time Within 10 Seconds -During the busiest hour of any shift, ten
seconds shall be the maximum amount of time in which incoming 9-1-1
calls are to be answered. The State realizes that unpredictable spikes may occur
and will take abnormalities into consideration when reviewing statistics
CALEA Dispatch Accreditation Standards
The Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies in conjunction
with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) has
created an accreditation program for public safety communications centers that
includes a number of best practice and performance objectives.
CFAI/CPSE Fire Accreditation Standards
The Commission on Fire Accreditation International, now known as the Center
for Public Safety Excellence also has a number of published standards and
practices that govern fire department dispatch operations.
National Emergencv Number Association (NENA1
NENA has several standards which detail 911 equipment specifications and best
practices for emergency call processing and technology.
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. International
APCO has several standards which set recommended minimum training levels
for dispatchers, including Project 33 which outlines necessary training objectives
for public safety telecommunicators.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
American Society for Testinq_& Materials (ASTM)
ASTM has developed a national minimum set of standards for Emergency
' Medical Dispatch (ASTM F1560 and ASTM F1258) including requirements for an
agency operated quality assurance program.
Best Practice Evaluation
Operations at LAFD and SMPD were reviewed for utilization of best practices and
compliance with many of the published standards listed above. Special attention was
paid to the number of trained dispatchers who were on duty at one time, the position
loading which refers to the number of phone calls or units an operator must manage,
and the availability and utilization of available technology.
Agency Survey
A survey instrument was developed in conjunction with the SMFD's Dispatch Evaluation
Committee who reviewed the document and assisted with several changes. Notice of
the survey was sent to aII SMFD personnel via a-mail with a note that the survey could
be taken online. A separate survey was prepared and sent to all SMPD dispatch
personnel.
The following findings overview the survey results:
1. Several SMFD personnel indicated that the current LAFD dispatch system is not
providing satisfactory or quality service to the citizens of the City:
2. Several SMFD personnel indicated that they have personally experienced delays
or other problems under the new dispatch arrangement with LAFD.
3. Many SMFD personnel acknowledge improved mobile computer and radio
technology installed to facilitate the switch to OCD.
4. Many SMFD personnel felt that they would not get reliable dispatch information
from the LAFD dispatcher due to the volume of emergency calls each dispatcher is
handling.
5. Several SMPD dispatchers reported issues with LAFD dispatchers understanding
Santa Monica streets, businesses, and landmarks, which result in the delayed
processing of calls within the City.
6. Several SMPD dispatchers reported problems with LAFD being slow to answer
ringing 911 lines during the busy hours of the afternoon.
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Agencv Interviews
Interviews were conducted with all SMFD chief officers, the IAFF Local Union president,
the SMPD Chief and managers of the SMPD Communications Center, multiple chief
officers at LAFD, dozens of staff interviews and meetings with firefighters at fire
stations.
Communications Center Configuration
There are several public safety dispatch models that are in use nationally. Each model
or configuration has its own set of strengths and weaknesses and require evaluation for
the best "agency" fit.
Fire Department Communications Center
This model occurs when a fire department operates their own communications
center and provides dispatching service for their own agency or for multiple fire
departments who are treated as "customers" of the primary owner agency. LAFD
is an example of this model.
Police Department Communications Center which provides FD Dispatch
This model occurs when a police department manages the communications
center and also provides dispatching service to a fire department. Personnel are
typically cross trained to provide both law enforcement and fire/rescue and EMS
functions. The Fire Department is treated as a "customer" of the
communications center meaning there is no shared governance structure in
place and that policy and procedure are set by the main agency and imposed on
the other "customer" agencies. An example of this model would be the City of
Beverly Hills where the Beverly Hills Police Department provides fire dispatch
services.
Regional FD Center with shared governance
This model occurs when several fire departments come together to set up a
regional communications center with shared governance. In the State of
California this typically involves a Joint Powers Agreement between the
various entities that documents cost sharing, process for policy and procedure
changes, voting rights of member agencies, etc. An example of this model is the
North County Dispatch Center located in Ranch Santa Fe (San Diego County,
CA). www.ncdjpa.org
io
Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Regional 911 Center with shared governance
This model occurs when multiple public safety agencies come together and set
up a regional communications center that will serve law enforcement, fire rescue
and EMS agencies with a shared governance model. Like the Regional FD
Center mentioned above, this model also makes use of a Joint Powers
Agreement which insures the use of an agreed to cost sharing formula, sets
policy on how procedures and reviewed and implemented, and sets voting rights
for the various management and operational committees that help govern the
center. An example of this model is the Valley Comm Regional Communications
Center in the Seattle, Washington metro area, (www.ValleyCom.org), which
provides dispatch services to more than twenty public safety agencies.
Evaluation of Options:
The initial list of fire dispatch options included the ten configurations that were studied in
2005. That list was reduced to those that were considered viable alternatives by the
City, which included five options (1) remain at LAFD; (2) activate the SMFD
Communications Center, (3) contract with the SMPD to provide fire dispatch, (4) co-
locate SMFD dispatchers in the SMPD Communications Center and (5) form a regional
fire communications center with the cities of Beverly Hills and Culver City. All options
were evaluated against national and state standards and against the utilization of best
practices. The Geo-Comm review found that four of the five options were not
appropriate for the City,_leaving the option for activation of the SMFD Communications
Center as the recommended selection. The following information was used in
assessing these options:
LAFD/OCD Option
Interviews were held with LAFD Assistant Chief Dan McCarthy, LAFD Battalion
Chief Brian Schultz and other LAFD command personnel. The LAFD
Communications Center is working to resolve a staffing shortage in both their
dispatch center and with several technology staff positions which support the
communications center. LAFD built and operates its own in-house Computer
Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and changes to the programming are not easy
since the system was never envisioned to provide support for multiple agencies.
No additional staffing was added to the LAFD Center when SMFD dispatch
services were acquired. LAFD operates as a secondary PSAP, which means that
their emergency calls are first answered by the law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction. The calls are then transferred to LAFD. LAFD uses certified
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firefighters who work a 24 hour shift in the communications center. Each day, a
team of firefighters are assigned to work different shifts in order to achieve
continuous coverage. LAFD personnel use a nationally recognized Emergency
Medical Dispatch (EMD) system which is incorporated with their dispatch
computer. The EMD system is designed to triage and prioritize all EMS calls into
one of several response categories which allows an agency to send Basic Life
Support units only to a low priority call or send Advanced Life Support units to a
higher priority call. It can take up to sixty seconds to ask all of the medically
approved questions to safely validate a low priority EMS call. The
SMFD sends Advanced Life Support to every EMS call and the full EMD
interrogation process actually slows down emergency response in some cases.
LAFD uses a fully automated dispatch system with a computer generated voice
that allows units to be notified rapidly of an emergency call. The LAFD Center
dispatches approximately 1,300 calls a day from more than 3,500 phone calls it
processes. The Center operates from the basement of City Hall and is planning
to move into a modern facility in 2012. LAFD has a very high call to dispatcher
ratio, both with 911 calls received per dispatcher and with the number of active
emergency calls per dispatcher per radio channel. This leads to regular
occurrences where the dispatcher does not have situational awareness of the
specific details involving each emergency call they are managing. When a unit
asks for clarification on a particular incident, the dispatcher has to recall the
incident in their computer, read the information -likely for the first time -and then
try to assist the field unit. There is also an issue with radio saturation where so
many units are using a single radio channel that it is hard for a field unit to get air
time to raise the dispatcher with a request. LAFD is also working through an
issue with its CAD system and the need to plot the location of a wireless 911
caller. Most wireless phone companies are now sending the latitude and
longitude of the caller with the data stream that accompanies the voice call to the
911 Center. There is also an issue called "dual dispatch" where an emergency
call is blocked when two separate emergency calls are routed to the same fire
station. The first emergency incident to arrive will be announced over the fire
station alerting system and the second arriving emergency call will be blocked.
LAFD dispatchers must watch for a warning message to alert them that a dual
dispatch event has occurred and then the dispatcher must manually rekey the
computer to send the alert a second time to the fire station. This technology
issue will always result in the delayed response of emergency personnel. Given
the high call volume, LAFD personnel work hard to insure that emergency calls
are received quickly and dispatched rapidly. LAFD is a large organization that
relies on strict adherence to very specific communjcations policy and procedure.
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The use of specific terminology and restricted text phrases are required. Since
SMFD emergency calls account for only three percent of the overall LAFD call
volume, all policy and procedure is set by LAFD and SMFD units must adopt and
adapt to them. This creates a situation where SMFD operations do not fit neatly
into the LAFD policy and procedure. LAFD has improvements planned-for the
dispatch center, including filling all vacancies and adding additional dispatch
staff, evaluating the replacement of their CAD system with a commercial product
and the move to a brand new, state of the art facility.
Provision of Fire Dispatch Services by SMPD
The Santa Monica Police Department operates a Communications Center that
functions as a primary PSAP (the first to answer a 911 call). Personnel work
from a spacious facility with windows and modern technology is available. 96% of
all 911 calls are answered in less than ten seconds which easily meets the State
of California standard for 911 call processing. There is sufficient space for future
growth. SMPD currently has a significant staffing shortage requiring extensive
use of overtime while supplementing the work force with other PD personnel. Of
the sixteen budgeted dispatcher positions, only twelve were filled at the time of
our interview and four of those twelve were still in initial training. Hiring and
retention of dispatchers is a national issue in public safety communications
centers and is not unique to SMPD. SMPD management has identified several
issues that they are working on. Chief Jackman indicated that he is willing to
discuss an option for SMPD to provide fire dispatch service, but he needs time to
get his staffing and training issues addressed. SMPD management has
indicated that it will need two years to resolve their current issues. Geo-Comm
concurs that it would not be appropriate to move fire dispatch to the police
department at this time and further concurs that it will take a minimum of two
years to complete their staffing and training program upgrades.
SMFD Co-Location with SMPD
Chief Jackman indicated that a co-location of the fire dispatch system with the
police department dispatch function was not an acceptable course of action.
This proposal would involve either shared management of the 911 Center by
both the Fire Department and Police Department management structure and/or
the placement of fire department controlled dispatchers in the police department
communications center under fire department supervision. Co-location
arrangements are difficult to manage, particularly from the personnel
perspective and law enforcement agencies must comply with unique security
requirements for sensitive criminal justice computer information.
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SMFD Communications Center
The SMFD Communications Center was maintained intact following the move to
LAFD/OCD. There is currently space and equipment for two dispatchers and a
supervisory office. With some adjustments to console furniture, there is space
for the addition of a third console. The centers maximum staffing would be three
on-duty operators which will allows for the processing of up to 37,000 calls
annually which would easily accommodate SMFD dispatch operations and would
also accommodate a shared dispatch arrangement with Culver City and Beverly
Hills, (based on a current consolidated call volume of 24,800 between all three
agencies)
The PSSI CAD system hardware and software are dormant but can be
reactivated. The Plant Vesta 911 System infrastructure is still in place and the
radio system central electronics were maintained but were deemed surplus and
were moved to the SMPD Communications Center.
West Side Cities
Meetings were held with chief officers from the Beverly Hills and Culver City fire
departments (Culver City Captain William Heins, Culver City Battalion Chief Dave
White, Beverly Hills Chief Tim Scranton, Beverly Hills Deputy Chief John Karns)
A discussion was held to determine their interest in forming a dispatch center that
would provide support to all three west side fire departments (SMFD, Beverly
Hills and Culver City). The call volume of the three agencies could be managed
in the space available in the SMFD Communications Center. There was support
by all chiefs present for a center with personnel who would focus on fire and
EMS issues. Both cities are currently dispatched by their police departments
who cross train personnel to perform both law enforcement and fire rescue
functions. Culver City representatives reported that they recently made a large
capital expenditure for computer and other dispatch infrastructure and indicated
that they could not pursue a joint dispatch venture at-this time. Beverly Hills
representatives also reported recent capital expenditures by their City for
computer and other dispatch infrastructure and indicated that they could not
pursue a joint dispatch venture at this time. Beverly Hills recently published an
RFP for a consultant to analyze their CAD system for upgrade or replacement.
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Electronic Consolidation
An additional future option to be considered involves the electronic consolidation
of various fire department dispatch centers in Los Angeles County. Electronic
consolidation involves the linking of the dispatch computers between various
agencies while meeting all necessary network and application security
requirements. Depending on the configuration of the system, as agreed to by the
affected parties, the "link" can allow each agency to visualize the resources of the
other agencies and - in some cases -will allow one agency to directly dispatch a
resource from another agency. Certain LA area dispatch centers have already
received federal funds to start this process. Electronic consolidation would help
SMFD and other west side cities coordinate emergency response and allow for
the faster dispatch of another agency unit to an emergency in their City.
Analysis
All of the information was reviewed by the Geo-Comm team and the following outcomes
and recommendations were approved after careful consideration of the needs of the
City of Santa Monica.
Move Dispatch Operations To SMFD
The City has an excellent fire department that provides many services and the
current dispatch arrangement does not and can not meet the needs of the City.
The City requires a high level of emergency dispatch service and there are
inherent differences between the needs and objectives of a large agency like
LAFD and the City of Santa Monica. While the LAFD Communications Center
provides an acceptable level of service to their agency, the mis-match in the
volume of calls will always prevent them from treating the City of Santa Monica
as a full participate in their dispatch system. This results in a situation where
LAFD will continue to provide their level of service to the City as a "customer" of
their dispatch system. There are several short term and long term technology
and staffing issues in the LAFD Center. These are creating challenges for the
system and are impacting the level of service to the SMFD. Moving the dispatch
function to.the SMFD Communications Center is the preferred and immediate
solution.
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Fire Dispatch Configuration
Moving the fire dispatch function to the SMFD Communications Center will allow
for the City to exercise complete control over the processing of emergency calls
from City residents and will increase the efficiency of the fire department. The
activation of the SMFD Communications Center is designed to be an interim step
which will allow rapid correction of current deficiencies, while also creating the
opportunity for future steps that will further enhance efficiency and cost control.
These future steps would include additional discussions with the SMPD over
provision of fire dispatch services and continued dialog with the other west side
cities (Beverly Hills and Culver City) over a shared fire dispatch system. The fire
department should also continue to monitor the impact of electronic consolidation
and sharing of data at other LA County dispatch centers.
The space available in the SMFD Communications Center is sufficient to
handle a call volume up to 25,000 calls annually with a staff of two dispatchers
on duty at all times and could handle a call volume of up to 37,000 calls with the
addition of a third dispatcher.
The City saved significant dollars by retaining technology in the SMFD
Communications Center following the transition to LAFD. It should also be noted
that a significant portion of the funds allocated for the transition to LAFD were
used for technology and equipment purchases. Much of this equipment can be
reused in the new system.
Technologv
The PSSI CAD system can be reactivated following back payment of
maintenance dollars to the vendor. Fire station run order assignments and all
response patterns will need to be verified for current operations but the overall
system is ready for use. A Mobile Data Computer (MDC) application is still
available which will link the main dispatch computer with the computers in the fire
department units. A change in the. way the data is exchanged between the main
dispatch computer and the vehicle units should provide greater reliability than
was experienced previously. New MDC units purchased for the LAFD transition
will be reused for this project. An Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) module
is also available to integrate with the CAD system which will provide the exact
location of each emergency unit. The fire departments UHF radio system will
need significant upgrades to overcome coverage and reliability concerns. The
radio system central electronics will need to be replaced since the old
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equipment was used by the police department after the transition to LAFD. The
Fire Station Alerting system will also need to be replaced and other obsolete fire
station alerting systems will need to be removed following the transition back to
SMFD operations.
Implementation Recommendations
Facili
Recommendation #1:
An internal committee should evaluate the best layout option for the SMFD
Communications Center. Ideally, both on-duty dispatchers will sit side by side to share
information and support operations. There are several possible configurations and we
recommend that the team who will be using the new system have ownership in the
decision.
Recommendation #2:
Pending a review of the Fire Code, the audible fire alarm in the Fire Communications
Center should be disconnected and a visual only alarm be maintained. Audible alarms
are disruptive to the dispatching process and the Center will be staffed on a 24 hour
basis which should allow for this change.
Personnel Recruitment & Hirin
Recommendation #3:
The City should use civilian dispatchers and a civilian supervisor to operate and
manage the operations of the Fire Communications Center. Public Safety
Communications has evolved into a specialty field and a professionally managed, high
efficiency center needs staff who are dedicated to the communications function and
mission through a well established career path.
Recommendation #4:
The City should establish a set of job descriptions, benefits, and salary ranges that are
commensurate to the existing police department employee structure. If allowed by the
collective bargaining agreement, entry level salary should be commensurate with the
applicant's prior dispatching experience. This is especially important for the hiring of the
Supervisor position. The City's goal should be to attract and hire a supervisor who has
prior fire dispatch supervisory experience and who can enter the position with sufficient
knowledge to support astart-up organization.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #5:
The City shall establish a minimum staffing pattern of two dispatchers on duty at all
times in order to comply with applicable NFPA standards and industry accepted
guidelines regarding public safety communication center staffing.
Recommendation #5:
The City should hire eight (8) public safety dispatchers and one (1) civilian supervisor to
meet the necessary staffing requirements for the communications center.
Recommendation #7:
To maximize personnel efficiency, the City should establish a twelve hour shift pattern
with two personnel on duty at all times. There are various twelve hour staffing
configurations for the City to select from. One of the more popular plans is called " 3-2-
2-3", where an employee works three days on, then has two days off, then works two
days and then has three days off. This plan gives each employee a three day weekend
every other week and is a good recruiting tool.
Recommendation #8:
The City should use a validated tool for new applicant testing in order to yield the
candidates with the highest probability of success. There are several of these tools
available, including Perfex, Criticall, and BPAD. Care should be taken to use the
instruments as directed by the manufacturer in order to achieve the desired results and
to maintain the validated certification for the product.
Recommendation #9:
In order to supplement staffing in the communications center and have additional
trained personnel who can cover vacancies created by sick leave, vacation, and
training, the fire department should identify up to ten (10) certified firefighting personnel
who can be trained for coverage. Ten firefighters are recommended as the starting
number for the program with the realization that this number will likely shrink down to
five or six personnel who will remain with the program. The fire department should
determine what rank is eligible to participate in this program;
Recommendation #10:
Firefighter dispatchers must be trained to the same standard as the civilian dispatcher
work force and should be expected to perform to the same level as the civilian
dispatchers with regard to policy, procedure and compliance with all SOP's.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #11:
Firefighter dispatchers must work a minimum of 6 hours a month to maintain their
"dispatch readiness" status. The City faces a liability exposure if it allows a firefighter to
work in the communications center following a long absence without remedial training or
competency checking.
Recommendation #12
The fire department should assess the required workload of the civilian supervisor and
the SMFD Support Services Battalion Chief to determine if any additional supervision is
needed.
Recommendation #13:
The fire department should assign someone to be the Technical Project Manager for the
duration of this implementation to coordinate and manage the various purchasing and
installation issues.
Recommendation #14:
The fire department should assign a different employee to be the Operations and
Implementation Project Manager. This assignment is a short term focused engagement
with the project plan.
Traininu
Recommendation #15:
All personnel who provide dispatch services should receive a minimum amount of
training. This includes the civilian dispatchers, the dispatch supervisor and all firefighter
dispatchers:
APCO 80 hour Basic Telecommunicatortralning program
APCO Fire Dispatcher training program
EMD training and certification (based on City's selection of an EMD program)
Recommendation #16:
All personnel who provide dispatch services should spend time at a regional dispatch
center observing operations, listening to radio traffic to develop their "radio ear",
monitoring 911 calls, and learning best practices.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #17:
The new communications supervisor should develop a formal, written training plan for
all employees that will include sufficient classroom instruction for all employees to
receive information on SMFD policy and procedure, work rules, dispatch procedures,
and other administrative tasks. As a part of this process, the communications
supervisor can facilitate arrangements for personnel to ride with SMFD units, spend
time in the SMPD communications center. in addition to the observation time mentioned
in Recommendation #16.
Recommendation.#18:
The fire department shall establish and maintain a set of training records which
document the training provided to each employee and implement a system to monitor
recertification dates
Recommendation #19:
At a minimum, the fire department should register the communications supervisor as a
member in the APCO professional organization (Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials), www.APC0911.org, and NENA (National Emergency
Number Association). The communications supervisor should also be encouraged to
join other local and regional organizations that support public safety communications.
Recommendation #20:
The communications supervisor and one additional fire department manager should
attend the APCO International Conference and Exposition and/or the Western Regional
APCO Conference to attend classes, view the latest in public safety technology and
meet with managers and supervisors from other centers who can provide valuable
information and document sharing.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
911 Svstem & Telephone
Recommendation #21:
The existing 911 telephone system should be reactivated. The Automatic Call
Distribution (ACD) function should be turned off and the system reconfigured to manual
answer mode. While an ACD function works well in a larger center with multiple
personnel assigned to the call receiving function, it is much less efficient in a smaller
center where two employees will be performing all functions. When multiple 911 calls
are being received there may be a need to triage several calls to determine which
callers are reporting the same incident and which caller may be reporting a new
emergency. This process is almost impossible in an ACD environment where each
operator is only allowed to "touch" a single call at a time.
Recommendation #22:
Emergency, non-emergency, and alarm reporting telephone lines should be configured
to comply with ISO Section 400 requirements. The agency should also reactivate
various other speed dial and ring down lines to area hospitals and other critical facilities
Recommendation #23:
All speed dial assignments programmed into the telephone system should be checked
and validated and new speed dial assignments should be identified and programmed.
Recommendation #24
The airport crash phone circuit should be moved from LAFD/OCD back to the SMFD
Communications Center. During the change, it is recommended that the circuit be
configured so that SMFD Fire Station 5 will be an extension off of the SMFD end of the
circuit and that an installed speaker will allow Station 5 personnel to monitor
conversations occurring on the phone.
Recommendation #25:
If VoIP administrative lines are used, it is recommended that one analog dial tone circuit
be provided on a standard phone set that does not require electricity. This is necessary
to allow for emergency notification in the event of a catastrophic system failure.
Recommendation #26:
It is recommended that certain equipment be permanently assigned to the SMFD
Communications Center to facilitate continued operations and evacuation of the Center,
including (1) cellular telephone, (2) two portable radios, (3) printed copies of critical
resource contacts and agency personnel phone numbers (including office, home and
cellular phones) and other equipment needed necessary bymanagement.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Computer Aided Dispatch System
Recommendation #27:
The existing PSSI computer aided dispatch (CAD) system should be reactivated.
Recommendation #28:
An internal fire department team should review all fire station response area
assignments and incident response patterns to insure that the CAD system has up to
date information which reflects the needs of the agency.
Recommendation #29:
A team composed of technical personnel from ISD and SMFD users of the mobile data
computer system should meet to review all options available on the MDC client
application and make recommendations to fire department management on a revised
MDC configuration.
Recommendation #30:
The fire department should purchase and activate the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)
module which is now available for the PSSI CAD system. This module will allow for
more efficient selection of emergency units when they are away from their station and
will enhance firefighter safety.
Recommendation #31:
The mobile data computer network should allow access to both the CAD system and to
the citywide data network with appropriate network security systems in place to protect
the CAD system from unauthorized intrusion.
Recommendation #32:
A series of meetings should be scheduled between the City's Information Technology
Services Department and fire department representatives to review available
applications and their use in the communications center and in the field on the mobile
data computers. Many agencies extend their city network functionality into the fire and
rescue apparatus, including access to GIS mapping layers, EMAIL, street level camera
views, fire department records management systems for fire reporting, city records on
business occupational licensing, building pre-plan documents, etc.
Recommendation #33:
The City should examine installation of 802.11 hot spots in all fire stations to
supplement the data radio coverage and to provide a more efficient method for pushing
application and file updates.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Radio Svstem & Interooerabilit
The current fire department radio system is the weakest link in the entire fire
communications system. Significant dollars will have to be expended to bring the
system up to an acceptable standard that will provide sufficient coverage and reliability
to support life safety communications. At the same time, the fire and police department
are both operating with conventional radio system platforms that have finite expansion
capabilities. The Fire Department currently has access to only three repeated radio
channels on which to coordinate operations and needs to have immediate access to a
forth radio channel for major incidents. Most agencies in the region are switching to a
trunked radio platform that conforms to a national open architecture standard called
"Project 25". Trunked radio systems provide increased versatility, more features, and
combine data and voice for better system management. There are currently two
regional trunked radio networks in the LA region. The first is ICIS (Interagency
Communications Interoperability System) which is up and running at this time and the
second is the LA-RIGS project (Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications
System) which is still in the planning stages. The ICIS system provides radio service to
twenty-three public safety agencies in the LA area. The City should start planning now
for an eventual migration to a trunked radio network.
Since the fire dispatch transition can not coincide with the migration to a trunked radio
network, the following recommendations are made to build out the fire departments
current radio system:
Recommendation #34:
The fire department must replace all three base station UHF transmitters at the Franklin
tower site. The existing equipment has passed its rated life expectancy and spare parts
are no longer available.. It is not safe to operate this equipment to support a life safety
function.
Recommendation #35:
The fire department must add a UHF base station for TAC3 at the Public Safety Facility.
Currently the Public Safety Facility tower site only supports fire department TAC1 and
TAC2. Redundancy is needed on all three fire department radio channels to support life
safety operations.
Recommendation #36:
The fire department should replace the satellite receiver radio equipment located at Fire
Station 3 with newer model and version of equipment.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #37:
The fire department should add a forth radio receiver site at The Shores building to
boost radio coverage along the Coastal Highway. The police department already has a
radio receiver site at this location.
Recommendation #38:
The fire department should budget funds for an additional fifth receiver site for better
radio coverage based on an analysis of reception following replacement and build out of
the new system and the addition of The Shores site.
Recommendation #39:
The fire department should purchase two mobile field repeater units and place them in
each Battalion Chief vehicle. Afield repeater unit will boost the radio coverage of the
mobile radio into a building and allow firefighters to use their portable radios during
interior operations. The portable radio is switched to a designated frequency which
allows the firefighter to talk to the dispatcher through the mobile radio on the battalion
vehicle. This recommendation is made contingent on the availability of a frequency pair
to support the field repeater unit.
Recommendation #40:
The fire department should consider the purchase and installation of additional mobile
field repeaters to eliminate additional radio dead spots that are identified following
performance testing of the improved radio network.
Recommendation #41:
The fire department should work with other local entities to identify a forth radio channel
for use during a major incident. In the absence of securing a dedicated channel for fire
department operations, an agreement could be reached to share a channel with another
agency on a contingency basis. Use of the national inter-agency channels should be
explored if all other options are exhausted.
Recommendation #42:
A fire department committee should evaluate the mobile and portable radio channel
layout for any changes caused by the use of field repeaters or a forth radio channel. All
radio programming changes should be checked to conform with the LA Regional TIC
Plan.
Recommendation #43:
The fire department should insure that dispatchers and field units can talk directly with
beach life guards as well as other local agencies.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #44:
The fire department should arrange with the police department for radio programming
that will allow field units to speak directly to a police officer on their assigned tactical
channel. This change, which will require the addition of an encryption module on all fire
department radios, will enhance coordination and emergency response.
Recommendation #45:
The fire department must provide one portable radio per assigned firefighter position on
each staffed and reserve apparatus and maintain sufficient spare radios for use during
maintenance events, special events, strike team deployments and for disaster
response.
Recommendation #46:
The fire department should meet with representatives of LAFD and negotiate a credit on
the dispatch services contract for return of some of the new 800 Mhz portable radios
that are no longer needed.
Recommendation #47:
The fire department should strive to insure that all radio equipment is from the same
manufacturer and similar type to the extent possible to reduce mis-match of radio
batteries, antenna units, shoulder microphones and other parts.
Recommendation #48:
The City should maintain direct control over radio programming, template design and
encryption keys. Sufficient personnel should be trained to program radios to allow for
quick turn around.
Recommendation #49:
The fire department should review its interoperability with all agencies to confirm that
existing UHF and 800 Mhz radios will provide the required level of coordination.
Recommendation #50:
All mobile, portable and fixed infrastructure should receive a manufacturer
recommended Preventative Maintenance check on an annual basis to provide updates
to the radio, to inspect for frequency drift, and to correct any observed deficiencies.
This inspection is especially important with digital radios operating in a narrow band
environment per the Motorola west coast service manager.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #51:
A decision should be made regarding unit identification and the associated MDC
signaling code for each portable and mobile radio and how it will be interpreted by the
SMFD Communications Center.
Recommendation #52:
The City should study a trunked radio system and the City's planned interaction with
other trunked radio projects in the area, including LA-RIGS and ICIS.
Fire Station Alerting Svstem
Recommendation #53
The fire department should purchase a new fire station alerting system that is fully
compliant with all ISO and NFPA guidelines regarding circuit integrity and dual dispatch
circuit requirements. An IP based network alerting system with radio alerting backup is
recommended to meet these requirements.
Recommendation #54:
The fire department should obtain a 24x7 maintenance agreement with a qualified
vendor to support the fire station alerting system with a guaranteed response time that
is deemed acceptable by the fire department.
Recommendation #55:
The fire department should purchase sufficient spare components for the new fire
station alerting system to allow for rapid .repair and swap out of systems during a failure.
Recommendation #56:
The fire department should add a fire station alert printer at the Gerber Ambulance
dispatch center to speed notification to their agency of emergency calls and to clearly
document the time the agency was notified for response.
Recommendation #57:
Following installation of the new fire station alerting system and cut over to the fire
department communications center, the fire department should hire an experienced
contractor to remove all out-of-service fire station alerting components from each fire
station, including the old Zetron systems and the LAFD fire station alerting systems.
Recommendation #58:
The fire department should meet with LAFD representatives and negotiate a credit on
the dispatch services contract for return of the proprietary alerting systems in use by
LAFD.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Emergencv Medical Disaatch IEMD
Recommendation #59:
During the transition process, the fire department should review all EMSIEMD dispatch
patterns used by LAFD/OCD and determine which patterns should be changed to
provide a "safety net" against accidental under coding of the call by LAFD. There have
been documented instances where a single fire department unit is dispatched to a low
priority medical emergency and they arrive to find a seriously ill or injured patient. In
some cases the unit has not been able to get on the radio to request additional
assistance due to heavy radio traffic occurring daily on the LAFD channels.
Recommendation #60:
The fire department should determine what level of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)
it needs to support its options. At a minimum, communications personnel should be
trained and certified to provide pre-arrival medical care instructions including CPR,
Choking intervention, child birth instructions and bleeding control. There are several
vendors who provide ASTM level EMD programs,. including APCO and Medical Priority.
Recommendation #61:
A fire department committee should review all EMS dispatch patterns for necessary
changes in the configuration of emergency response following the return to the SMFD
Communications Center.
Recommendation #62:
The fire department should implement an approved EMD Quality Assurance program
that will meet ASTM guidelines. ASTM Standard 1560 establishes minimum levels for
EMD programs and quality assurance processes.
Quality Assurance/Best Practices
Recommendation #63:
During the implementation phase of this project, the fire department should complete
the ISO "Pre-Survey on Fire Communications Centers" to insure complete compliance
with necessary standards on which the City will be rated.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
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Recommendation #64:
In order to comply with NFPA standards on call processing, the fire department should
meet with the police department to create a monthly report that will track the lapse time
from the receipt of a 911 call at the police department communications center through
transfer of the 911 call to the fire department communications center. An automated
report can identify all 911 calls at the police department which show a 'star' transfer
code for the fire department and extract those records for analysis.
Recommendation #65:
The fire department should develop a series of automated reports that will measure all
segments of the dispatch process as outlined by NFPA. These reports should be
reviewed monthly by management for compliance with agency policy.
Recommendation #66:
The fire department shall develop, publish, train and test its plan for radio system failure
to insure that all communications and Feld personnel have a working knowledge of how
to maintain radio contact with an agency during a loss of the radio system.
Recommendation #67:
The fire department shall develop, publish, train and test a plan for the evacuation of the
SMFD Communications Center to insure that all communications and field personnel
have a working knowledge of how operations will continue following the evacuation of
the center.
Recommendation #68:
The fire department should meet with representatives of the police department to
discuss a policy on how crimes in progress involving injuries will be processed and to
insure that - if appropriate -the fire department will be able to provide pre-arrival
medical care and instruction.
Recommendation #69:
The fire department should develop a formal written policy that all changes to dispatch
process and procedure, including changes to fire station order and response
configurations, must be approved by the Fire Chief or his designee.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
Recommendation #70:
The fire department should develop a formal written procedure that will govern and
restrict any occurrence where the SMFD Communications Center will refuse to respond
to a request for service. There are certain situations in which an inappropriate call will
be referred to the fire department. However, a refusal to respond can generate
significant negative publicity for the agency and can create a huge liability exposure.
Calls involving the homeless who may, or may not, need medical attention but who
generate a 911 call from the public, as well as checks on well being, mental health
emergencies and even traffic collisions with unknown injuries can result in a wide range
of interpretation by each dispatcher in the absence of a formal policy. It is
recommended that all requests for service be entered into the CAD system with
appropriate documentation and that a battalion chief be consulted prior to refusing a
response in some circumstances.
Recommendation #71:
The City should have a financial plan or strategy for upgrade, refresh and replacement
of existing technology systems.
Recommendation #72:
The fire department should establish a set of "working groups" who will meet monthly to
review dispatch system issues and opportunities for improvement. These groups
should include:
a) FD and PD dispatch issues
b) Field Personnel and Dispatchers
c) Quality Assurance Review
Recommendation #73:
As a part of the quality assurance process, the fire department should adopt a policy of
mandatory reportable events that may occur in the SMFD Communications Center,
including dispatch to the wrong location, a second 911 call from the original caller,
certain equipment failures, geo errors discovered in the CAD system, etc. The intent of
the policy is to insure that issues are brought to the attention of the supervisor for
necessary corrective action.
Recommendation #74:
The fire department shall prepare a formal transition plan which will be updated at (east
monthly. A written report should be submitted to the Fire Chief on a monthly basis
reviewing the progress of the transition plan and identifying any issues or barriers that
would impact the overall time line.
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Santa Monica Fire Department
Dispatch Evaluation Project
Advance Final Report 1/7/09
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