New Dispatch System Should Make for Better Emergency Call Response

“It'll lead them through a series of questions with the caller to identify what the hazard type is,” said Chief Herbster. That will allow us to recognize it and send the appropriate response for that. But it also sort of levels the playing field for dispatchers regardless of their experience. Whether they've been there six months or 20 years, everyone's going to get the, the same quality of service.”

The Priority Dispatch System™ (PDS™) includes ProQA® software, a three-day certification training course for emergency dispatchers, and continual quality improvement (QI) benchmarks and training. All emergency dispatchers who work on the new system are certified by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™) and must recertify every two years, complete 24 hours of continuing dispatch education (CDE) and pass all requirements for IAED recertification.

“At the IAED, our goal is to help the emergency dispatcher do his or her job better,” said Dr. Jeff Clawson, Chair, Rules Committee for the IAED Medical Council of Standards. “This system increases safety and effectiveness for the first responders and creates better outcomes for callers.”

The City of Moore Communications Center along with the Moore Fire Department is excited to announce the implementation of the Fire Priority Dispatch System™ (FPDS™) to better serve the residents of Moore, OK in emergency situations.

With this new system, emergency dispatchers will follow nationally recognized standards and research-based protocols to identify life-threatening situations and to safely prioritize calls for response. The protocols guide emergency dispatchers through a series of questions they ask callers to identify the problems so they can send the correct help.

Fire Chief Greg Herbster said he loves how the software will provide a consistent level of service by every dispatcher, regardless of experience, and will speed up the process to get fire units on the scene faster.

The constantly evolving software will help provide the highest standard of care to the community, allowing Dispatchers to better manage resources and increase the accuracy and efficiency of the dispatching process.

With the Moore Communications Center implementation of this system, residents can have peace of mind that when they call their local emergency number for assistance, highly trained emergency dispatchers will properly handle their needs with timeliness and expert care.

“It should definitely speed up response times,” said Chief Herbster. “The software will help efficiently identify whether it's an extreme emergency or a lower priority. For example, if you have a structure fire with victims trapped, it'll identify that within like two questions and it's going to get a much quicker response. If it's something less life-threatening, they may ask five or six questions before they respond with fire units.”