Wanted: FDNY Dispatchers

Rumor has it that the FDNY is...or will be soon...looking to hire provisional Fire Alarm Dispatchers due to a serious gap in their manpower.

The number needed various from 60 to 90 new dispatchers, depending on who you talk to.

To those who don't know, "provisional" hiring is done without a civil service test, and you will be required to take the next test for the job (whenever it comes up) to remain on the job.

Besides some dispatching experience (which, considering their desperation, may vary from applicant to applicant), you will be required to live in NY, either the City itself, Long Island, and the four counties immediately north of the city to be hired.

Also keep in mind that the FDNY no longer maintains a communications office in each borough, and you would either work in downtown Brooklyn, or the east Bronx. The one in the Bronx is a little difficult to get to by public transportation. This is for FIRE only....EMS has their own dispatch contingent.

Keep in mind this is only scuttlebutt about the hiring, but the fact that they are down so many bodies is true. Keep an ear out and do your own research to find out more.

I am very surprised--there was a long waiting list on past applicants--if the fdny passes over the past waiting winners on the civil service side there is gonna be many many lawsuits--and for the unions to let that happen--well thats gonna be another big battle

as for provisional side i did a search and the only search i found for credentials was someone in a google group from 2001 with a laundry list needed to back you up and still have to take the fire alarm test--which is postponed at this time

ipfd320 said:

I am very surprised--there was a long waiting list on past applicants--if the fdny passes over the past waiting winners on the civil service side there is gonna be many many lawsuits--and for the unions to let that happen--well thats gonna be another big battle

as for provisional side i did a search and the only search i found for credentials was someone in a google group from 2001 with a laundry list needed to back you up and still have to take the fire alarm test--which is postponed at this time

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From what I understand, that list expired LONG ago and, generally speaking in civil service issues, agencies don't want to hire off a "stale" list even if it was extended.

And, yes, a request for a test by the FD was, for some reason, put on hold by the city agency that does the testing, to the point where FD management sent letters "demanding" a new test. Where that stands now is unknown.

But, like I say: keep an ear out; someone may just get hired and fall into a good opportunity.

I'm not sure how its done down in the city. However in the rest of NY a list is only good for four years.

The folks living in Long Island and northern counties can actually make more money dispatching in those outer areas PLUS not have to commute into the City. That’s probably the issue.


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Signal-Zero said:

The folks living in Long Island and northern counties can actually make more money dispatching in those outer areas PLUS not have to commute into the City. That’s probably the issue.

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That's true about the salaries, but just how many dispatchers are working as dispatchers throughout the entire area outside the city? I would say that the total number now working up there is pretty close to the 90 or so the city is looking to hire now.

Besides, those dispatchers "upstate" are probably making a better salary having worked in those positions up there for many years, whereas the starting salary for the FDNY (whatever it is) is probably pretty close to their salaries.

The Wall Street Journal recently did a rather long story about the need for "911 Dispatchers" throughout the country, with salaries being the biggest problem (among other problems). Here's a link to give you a taste of the article, but you need a subscription to read the whole thing:

911 Emergency: Call Centers Can’t Find Workers
Tight labor market has made it harder to recruit; ‘We need a warm body’

https://www.wsj.com/articles/911-em...ers-1533398401?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1

FDNY Dispatcher Job Announcement.

Job details and qualifications:

https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Emerg...541950&rs=1&fromage=last&vjk=35018372fb012c22

Really Those Qualifications Are a Bit Extreme to be a Dispatcher--Sorry-No Wonder why There Having Trouble Finding People --Granted its Like 20.00 an Hour then Minus the Deductions Leaves You With 12 Dollars an Hour

ipfd320 said:

Really Those Qualifications Are a Bit Extreme to be a Dispatcher--Sorry-No Wonder why There Having Trouble Finding People --Granted its Like 20.00 an Hour then Minus the Deductions Leaves You With 12 Dollars an Hour

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Sadly, I must agree...especially with the qualifications. And, what makes the salary not as good as it appears is the fact that, according to that link, you have to live in the once-great City of New York to get the job, unless you are already a city employee.

I was also reading the qualifications for an EMS dispatcher for a major hospital in NJ, and you would think that you were applying to for a PH.d in some subject in a major university.

But, as I say in a post above, these qualifications will probably be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and anyone who can just get one foot over the "qualification" line will be accepted...and probably with open arms.

It's interesting also that the NYPD dispatcher's job ("Police Communications Technician") only requires some type of prior employment in just about anything, along with typing xx-words a minute, and their abilities as a 911 call taker are a LOT more critical than the fire dispatcher.

ipfd320 said:

Really Those Qualifications Are a Bit Extreme to be a Dispatcher--Sorry-No Wonder why There Having Trouble Finding People --Granted its Like 20.00 an Hour then Minus the Deductions Leaves You With 12 Dollars an Hour

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Actually they are pretty comparable to to other dispatching / call taker positions. I was a dispatcher for a regional center and also the state police in my home state. Both jobs had the same minimum qualifications, this is emergency services so the standards have to be high.

When I took the FDNY dispatcher test about ten plus years ago, the standards were the same. You can't dumb it down when lives are on the line in my opinion.

ipfd320 said:

Really Those Qualifications Are a Bit Extreme to be a Dispatcher--Sorry-No Wonder why There Having Trouble Finding People --Granted its Like 20.00 an Hour then Minus the Deductions Leaves You With 12 Dollars an Hour

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Not extreme at all.

Actually they are pretty comparable to to other dispatching / call taker positions

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Yeah...but are they necessary?

At some point, you're overqualifying a position that doesn't need THAT much qualification...especially with the low-ball salary offered for those jobs.

In 1969, the New York Fire Department hired a large number of civilian dispatchers to replace the large number of light-duty firemen who had worked in Communications for decades. The qualifications at that time had very little to do with actual dispatching, but a LOT to do with basic electricity theory and...believe it or not....telegraphy, as well as taking a test made up of mostly electrical theory and mathematical formulas to go with it. Knowledge of any fire department operation was not even part of it.

Most of those who were hired just squeezed in with minimal qualifications of some sort of dispatching or some type of schooling in electricity. But the common denominator of of most of those hired was that they were fire buffs in the various boroughs and firehouses.

Then came the notorious 1970s and the "War Years." Obviously, "electrical theory" was not something seriously talked about or even experienced, but a hand-on knowledge of the fire operations (specifically, the FDNY)...as well as geography....was the defining factor.

The point is, with these "Ph.D"-type qualifications for dispatcher, which few will have, has eliminated possibly a large pool of potentially good fire...and police...dispatchers.

Maybe if the salaries (plural) were greater, the idea of attaining those qualifications wouldn't be such a bad thing. But as it stands now, it is, and will be, a detriment to the hiring.

ten13 said:

Yeah...but are they necessary?

At some point, you're overqualifying a position that doesn't need THAT much qualification...especially with the low-ball salary offered for those jobs.

<snip>

Maybe if the salaries (plural) were greater, the idea of attaining those qualifications wouldn't be such a bad thing. But as it stands now, it is, and will be, a detriment to the hiring.

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The salary is the real killer. . . just over $18.46 an hour. Absurdly low. That's less than I make in Ohio (in an administrative position); the cost of living here is considerably lower, yet money can get a bit tight from time to time.

I spent 23 years as a police/fire/EMS dispatcher, and the pay was always low, but $18 an hour for the kind of stress one would get as an FDNY dispatcher (on top of the high cost of living and ridiculous taxes) is downright insulting.

ten13 said:

Yeah...but are they necessary?
At some point, you're overqualifying a position that doesn't need THAT much qualification...especially with the low-ball salary offered for those jobs.

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Simple answer is yes.

So let's break it down.

1. An associate degree or 60 semester credits from a college or university accredited by regional, national, professional, or specialized agencies recognized as accrediting bodies by the U.S. Secretary of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA);

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Okay they want educated people as a minimum. This is pretty much the standard all over the place now. It may not have been in the 1960's or 1970's but this is 2018. Everything is now primarily computer based. Also may of the DHS / EMA / EMS / FD field studies are now offer college credits towards an Associate Degree. All job announcements within a 'technical field" (we'll call it) have a college credit minimum requirement or high school with experience in the field listing.

or

2. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, approved by a State's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization, and two years of satisfactory full-time experience in one of the following: (a) As an airport or railroad traffic controller; as a fire alarm dispatcher in a Class "A" Fire Alarm System; or in radio or telephone call receiving and/or dispatching position in an emergency communications facility dedicated to Police, Fire or EMS operations; or (b) As a paid or unpaid dispatcher handling the receipt of multiple, simultaneous calls and radio dispatching in response thereto in a non-firefighting/fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatching capacity in a U.S. military facility, Parks Department, Sanitation, Medical Service, DEP, or in a motor fleet such as a car service; or (c) As a paid firefighter and/or fire dispatcher as a member of a municipal or federal fire service/department or the New York City Fire Patrol; or (d) Service as a Firefighter/EMS Medical Tech or Fire/EMS dispatching member in good standing of a recognized volunteer Fire/EMS department. To be creditable, such service will be evaluated in accordance with the bylaws established by the volunteer fire department which must detail the minimum yearly service requirement for being a member in good standing. Written verification will be required from the highest-ranking member of the volunteer service that the member in good standing requirement has been satisfied.

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Ah, the meat & bones of the job. Its spelled out right here, they want people who know what the job entails as well as people who have previous experience. Why?? The stress, the environment, the fast pace it takes to EMD / gathering the appropriate call information in a quick and timely matter. This is especially difficult when multiple incidents are being handled. I've seen how the FDNY dispatch works visiting the old Brooklyn CO, totally different than where I worked up here in CT. Both of my dispatch jobs occurred in two of the busiest dispatch centers in the state so I understand wanting people who know what the job entails beforehand and also makes training a lot easier.

3. A satisfactory combination of education and/or experience equivalent to ?1? or ?2? above. Honorable full-time U.S. military service may be substituted for experience as described in ?2? above, on a year-for-year basis, up to two years of military service for two years of experience. However, all candidates must possess a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent.

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Standard hiring process information. Obviously hiring the veteran is the right thing to do.

NOTE: Experience as a housing superintendent, hospital page operator, hospital telephone operator, customer service representative, or airport dispatcher is not acceptable as experience listed in (a) or (b) above. However, experience as an air traffic controller, radio motor patrol vehicle operator, or another kind of vehicle operator who receives and/or transmits messages over a mobile radio is acceptable.

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Again, they want people who have operated in a busy environment and managing capacity to make decisions on the fly.

Having been a volunteer and then a paid career dispatcher, these qualifications are not out of the ordinary. This was the same standard when I applies over 10 years ago before i got hired at my current employment. And also when I worked for my two other dispatch jobs, the minimum qualifications were practically the same, as are other dispatch job I have seen posted over the years.

Everyone thinks FD / EMS / PD dispatching is easy; picking up a phone, typing into a computer and talking on the radio. It is a lot more than just that, trust me I know.

As for the salary, you all have to remember that is the starting pay, which is low for the cost of living in the NYC area. Its one of the reasons why I didn't take the job years ago. But you have to look at their contract to see what their increases are plus their OT rate and availability.

You guys are over-thinking the whole thing and, obviously, have no idea about the FDNY dispatchers.

We are talking about dispatchers who handle FIRES exclusively....no police calls or EMS runs....just fires.

So, if someone calls the FIRE DEPARTMENT and screams the address, "123 Fake Street," and nothing else, you send the companies.

If someone calls the FIRE DEPARTMENT in a foreign language, and the only thing you understand is, "123 Fake Street," you send the companies.

If someone calls the FIRE DEPARTMENT and screams, "123 Fake Street, apartment 3B..." and hangs up, you send the companies and tell them the caller said they were in apartment 3B.

If someone calls the FIRE DEPARTMENT and says the magic words, "smoke" "smell," and, in today's FDNY "water," you send the companies.

The only time a Fire Dispatcher can get jammed up is if they DON'T SEND ANYONE.

There's not that much "decision making" being done. And if there's any real decisions to be made, there's about three or four other dispatchers sitting next to you, plus a supervisor, to help you out.

With that said, demanding "Ph.D"-level pre-qualifications for the job is nonsense. If anyone feels that all those prerequisites are needed, they should be required for a supervisory promotion, not entry level, and certainly not for the FDNY dispatchers.

And, as I said before, the NYPD 911 call-takers/dispatchers, who are required to handle MUCH higher level of critical incoming calls and dispatching, have NO SUCH pre-qualifying mandates, and are dependent on in-house training by the NYPD after being hired.

In fact, the City looks at the FD's dispatcher's job as a "promotional opportunity" for NYPD 911 dispatchers, the salary notwithstanding (the FD makes more), but even THEY don't want it because of the 12-hour tours of duty (sometimes 18).

The FDNY will be lucky to get 9 new recruits, much less the 90 that's reported to be needed.

You can't dumb it down when lives are on the line in my opinion.

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That's only true if you want to "romanticize" the job which, in reality, isn't the case. If there's anyone to blame for a loss of life at a fire there's only ONE PERSON to blame, and that's the guy who started the fire...no one else.

Again, I know numerous dispatchers in Orange County, NY that make more than $20 an hour. That salary to commute to or worse have to live in the City is a joke.


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I know several people who retired from the FDNY dispatch force some 15+ years ago. At that time, the force was around 210 guys and gals. The city, in their "infinite wisdom", offered early retirement to the senior level and top FDNY dispatch earners. This was done to save money by replacing those workers with lower paid, new employees. You would have thought that many more would have stayed, especially since overtime was piling in to the tune of 100k+ per year, as it likely is now for the senior folks. But newly appointed provisionals are unlikely to share in the pie due to certain restrictions placed on new workers during their probationary period.

Also, because of what I understand to be extremely bad management in the communications division in the 2-3 year period following "911", folks who might have stayed would and did rather retire and collect their pension rather than working under abysmal conditions.

The fact that the consolidation of the 5 communications offices to merely Bronx and Metrotech (if I understand correctly), most likely drove even more folks out, who now had longer commutes. This is especially true of the dispatchers who worked and lived on Staten Island.

Starting gross salaries at the 38k level with little opportunity for overtime, will not attract many folks.

Let me end by saying God Bless those who served in the FDNY.

A little clarification to the above:

About 15 years ago (maybe a little longer) there was a change in the pension system for the FD's dispatchers; it was originally a "25/55" retirement (25 years on and a minimum age of 55), which was changed to a "25 and out" pension (with no age restriction). At that time, many already had the 25 years, so they retired right after the new pension went into effect, or soon after. And many today are retiring right upon reaching the 25 year mark (hence, the present manpower problem).

Those appointed provisionally will, indeed, work OT (why do you think they are hiring them?), after a short "break-in period." There's no restrictions on that. The only difference between a provisional appointment and one made off a civil service list is that the provisional does not have the civil service protection the others do, and can be fired at will. They still have union protections and benefits (such as they are).

While management in communications has historically been "abysmal" (especially now), retirements after 9/11 was caused by the massive amount of overtime EVERYONE worked (dispatchers, cops, firemen, etc, etc), and calculated with the pensions. Many NYC employees in all titles and ranks retired soon after 9/11, since the amount of "ordered overtime" would probably never be duplicated.

And, yes, the consolidation of the offices was a big factor for people leaving the job, not only because of the commute, but because the working environment changed significantly, and not for the better.

If you are young, or somewhat young, and are looking for a job such as this, I would pursue trying to get this FDNY dispatcher's job. I would do the job for a couple of years then set my sights leaving NY and the tri-state area for "greener pastures" somewhere else. Taxes will be going up and quality-of-life will be changing in the NY area, and not for the better (Socialism has a way of doing that). With a background in NYC you should be able to get a dispatcher's job (fire or police) rather easily somewhere else. The salary may not be as great as NYs, but at least you won't be paying over $3.00 for a gallon of gas or extraordinary rents, either.

This is the Requirements from the Babylon Central Fire Dispatch (Suffolk County NY)

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Graduation from a standard senior high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Candidates must possess a valid CPR certification approved by the American Heart Association at the time of appointment and must maintain valid certificate throughout their employment in this title.
Appointees must obtain a certification as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher through an approved course as determined by the appointing authority within 3 months of the date of appointment and must maintain valid certificate throughout their employment in this title.

Candidates must be free of any speech, hearing or vision defect which would impair their functioning in this position.

There will be a qualifying controlled substance screening.
There will be a qualifying keyboard performance test.
There will be a qualifying color blindness test.
There will be a qualifying written legibility screening.
There will be a verbal screening.

The Complete Job description / Duty Page Here--->
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a2ac96_1d309905fead44959f8c6cd9a6f79e62.pdf

Application View Here---> https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/a2ac96_983068ae09a24d49af56e5737ad6a02c.pdf

.....................................................................................................................................................
They Dont Need All this HI-College Knowledge for this Fire Dispatch Job
.....................................................................................................................................................

Appointees must obtain a certification as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher through an approved course as determined by the appointing authority within 3 months of the date of appointment

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At least they give you a chance to GET ON the job and then get the qualification. You can figure out whether the job is worth your expense to take the course before you invest your time and money.