nothin New Haven Independent | Town’s Emergency Response System Fine-Tuned

Town’s Emergency Response System Fine-Tuned

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Dispatcher Deno at police headquarters.

In 2015 Branford Communication Center answered over 85,000 telephone calls and dispatched over 28,000 police, fire and medical calls for service.

Now, as part of its plan to offer more precise service, a new medial, fire, and police Priority Dispatch System™ (PDS) is being put into operation. According to Capt. Geoffrey Morgan, the program cost about $70,000 and was implemented over the last six months.

The system, which operates from the police department’s dispatch room (see top photo), enables dispatchers to accurately assess each emergency or routine situation and send the best response possible while safeguarding valuable and limited emergency resources and increasing safety all around, a police statement says.

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Priority Dispatch on the screen.

Fire Chief Thomas Mahoney and Police Chief Kevin Halloran worked together to put the system in place.

Our communication personnel will now have a reliable, consistent and validated tool to assist them in sending the right resources to the right call at the right time,” said Mahoney. The questions asked by the Telecommunicator will give us a greater degree of confidence that what the caller is reporting is what we will find upon arrival ensuring an appropriate response to any emergency.”

Halloran added, The implementation of this computer-based system continues with our constant commitment to provide the best public services we can to the community we serve by increasing the level of our Communication staff’s professionalism and reduce the constant threat of liability.” 

Based on international standards, the system will give consistent care and service to each caller; gather critical information for responders; identify life-threatening situations; prioritize response; and provide Zero Minute” Dispatch Life Support using Pre-Arrive and Post-Dispatch Instructions.

Morgan said that with advanced computer software, dispatchers are able to get answers to questions and communicate information quickly, handling different situations far more easily than in the past. The system includes ProQA® software and/or card sets, a three-day certification training course for emergency dispatchers, and continual quality improvement (QI) benchmarks and training. Dispatchers are certified by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch®; they must be recertified every two years.

The Priority Dispatch program, Morgan said, is nationally recognized” and considered the state-of-the art for police, fire, and ambulance departments.

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