Automated FD Dispatching

peterjmag

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2001
Messages
2,038
Location
Tulsa, OK and Wichita, KS
Been hearing more agencies go to automated dispatching for their FDs. I wonder if TFD will eventually do the same? Here is a list I have heard so far...

Sand Springs FD
Sapulpa FD
Owasso FD

Anyone else hearing any others? How about any in the OKC area?
 

steve9570

Member WSAG-457 -KB1-KZW- KCP-2441 CB-WA1-BZG
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 6, 2007
Messages
226
Location
Natick Ma
A lot Here in Mass are doing it now also Boston Fire etc
 

N4THC

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2020
Messages
10
Location
OKC, OK
Tinker AFB Fire Dept. has it as well for their Fire call outs. I have not heard any others in the OKC area.
 

Freqed

I'm just a listener
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 30, 2003
Messages
1,644
Location
Broken Arrow
I think there is too much activity on TFD mainside to really go to an automated service. There is a lot of follow up traffic going on.
 

radiodog2009

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
I think there is too much activity on TFD mainside to really go to an automated service. There is a lot of follow up traffic going on.
Well, I went to Dallas about three weeks ago and I took my scanner. They were throwing out FD calls one right behind another for 8 calls. It sure sounded like a computer to me.
 

PACNWDude

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
1,407
I work for a private corporation that runs fire stations all across the United States. At least in my case, the new fire station alerting system is the G2 Phoenix alarm panel, fire station alerting, and dispatch system, being installed at most sites. Local county fire also uses automated (robotic sounding) dispatch systems, and has for a few years now. These are becoming very common as the technology becomes cheaper and more integrated with radio systems and fire station lights, and indication banner displays. It does free up 9-1-1 dispatchers a bit from routine fire call outs. Expect to see a lot more of this as time goes on.
 

radiodog2009

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Oh boy, another way to put people out of a job. Just what the country needs. It will definitely lighten the load for dispatchers. I know they will appreciate it while standing in the food lines.
 

belvdr

No longer interested in living
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,567
Oh boy, another way to put people out of a job. Just what the country needs. It will definitely lighten the load for dispatchers. I know they will appreciate it while standing in the food lines.
I haven't seen that here. Frankly, it frees up time for dispatchers to do something more worthwhile, such as answering calls and providing any assistance they can. There's little to no value-add with a person sending tones and an address. Additional details can be given when the responding units report en route.
 

xerb1962

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
376
Location
Guthrie, OK
I heard it being used in the Denver metro a couple of months ago. I agree with belvdr. It frees up the dispatches the way I figure it?
 

PD47JD

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 13, 2021
Messages
412
Location
Connecticut
I haven't seen that here. Frankly, it frees up time for dispatchers to do something more worthwhile, such as answering calls and providing any assistance they can. There's little to no value-add with a person sending tones and an address. Additional details can be given when the responding units report en route.
With the exception when the auto dispatch system states: Rescue 1, Quint 2 respond to motor vehicle accident I-95 Southbound at I-95 Southbound. O.K. everyone got the message...excepting: Where on I-95 southbound? It took a few minutes after the auto dispatch and the units were rolling did a human voice come over the system and give the exit number location where the MVA occurred. Heard similar vague auto dispatch over a period of time.
 

belvdr

No longer interested in living
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,567
With the exception when the auto dispatch system states: Rescue 1, Quint 2 respond to motor vehicle accident I-95 Southbound at I-95 Southbound. O.K. everyone got the message...excepting: Where on I-95 southbound? It took a few minutes after the auto dispatch and the units were rolling did a human voice come over the system and give the exit number location where the MVA occurred. Heard similar vague auto dispatch over a period of time.
That seems like poor programming to me, not related to automated voice dispatching. Here, they give mile markers and/or specific directions.
 

KE4ZNR

Radio Geek
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
7,346
Location
Raleigh, NC
That seems like poor programming to me, not related to automated voice dispatching. Here, they give mile markers and/or specific directions.

Yep. We use Locution here in Central NC in several counties and it works great. It frees up Telecommunicators to take phone calls and assist in other ways. And we are still hiring and have not cut staff at all.
Anyone that uses the excuses against automated dispatching that have been presented so far in this thread has not worked a shift behind a console or knows little about the day to day requirements of 911 centers today.
Automated dispatching is a blessing to our 911 centers here.
 

radiodog2009

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
I heard it being used in the Denver metro a couple of months ago. I agree with belvdr. It frees up the dispatches the way I figure it?
How free do the dispatchers want to be? Do you think they want to be free 100% of the time?

I am not certain that everyone sees the bigger picture. All these new inventions and platforms sound great until you dig a little deeper and see the harm they could create in the job market.

If an employer could make a one time investment in new technology and fire everyone who had those jobs, no more salaries, benefits, 401K plans, vacation and sick days, do you no think they would jump at the chance?
 

belvdr

No longer interested in living
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,567
How free do the dispatchers want to be? Do you think they want to be free 100% of the time?

I am not certain that everyone sees the bigger picture. All these new inventions and platforms sound great until you dig a little deeper and see the harm they could create in the job market.

If an employer could make a one time investment in new technology and fire everyone who had those jobs, no more salaries, benefits, 401K plans, vacation and sick days, do you no think they would jump at the chance?
Again, we have not seen the harm you describe. In fact, there are job openings. This is not full automation, rather it’s automating a portion of the job where a human adds no value.

Where’s the data for your claim?
 

KE4ZNR

Radio Geek
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 21, 2002
Messages
7,346
Location
Raleigh, NC
Again, we have not seen the harm you describe. In fact, there are job openings. This is not full automation, rather it’s automating a portion of the job where a human adds no value.

Where’s the data for your claim?

He has none other than kneejerk responses. He evidentially believes that having automated dispatching like Locution will cause everything else in the dispatch center to come to a screeching halt or that we will only have computers in the 911 center. Our call center is seeing more calls than ever so using locution for FD/EMS dispatching allows freeing up our telecommunicators to answer those calls that would otherwise be waiting while the human does the dispatch. It also allows our telecommunicators to continue to gather more info while the automated page is going out.
And we are also continuing to hire and hold academies so the line about telecommunicators being forced of a job due to automated dispatching is widely incorrect.
To sum up: Automated dispatching does not replace dispatchers...it is instead another tool for them to use to speed response.
 

BoxAlarm187

Level 6 RR Member (Since 1998)
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 19, 2003
Messages
1,724
Location
Old Dominion
Oh boy, another way to put people out of a job. Just what the country needs. It will definitely lighten the load for dispatchers. I know they will appreciate it while standing in the food lines.
It doesn't put anyone out of a job, it simply lessens the burden on the dispatcher who still monitors the radio traffic and tac channels. None of the agencies I've been affiliated with have lost any positions due to the automated dispatch.

As for not getting the correct location on the interstate, that's a programming error on the system. We've never encountered that issue on our interstates.
 

PACNWDude

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
1,407
+1 on Locution and automated dispatch NOT resulting in the loss of jobs. I would also add that many 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points are adding social media dispatchers as well. This thread, like many, also has some of the "sky is falling" to Artificial Intelligence (AI) comments I saw in a P25 radio thread (and laughed at). AI can't and does not control everything.....and if anything, adds job opportunities in many cases rather than takes the place of them. Dispatchers are always in demand, and a few I know move around to where the pay and benefits are better at a specific time and place.
 

radiodog2009

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Again, we have not seen the harm you describe. In fact, there are job openings. This is not full automation, rather it’s automating a portion of the job where a human adds no value.

Where’s the data for your claim?
Data will never replace common sense. I probably need to explain what common sense is for everyone under 50.

All you have to do is look around yourself and see how big business operates in our highly enlightened society.

They first went to call directors to eliminate receptionists. Then they added bots to answer questions not commonly asked. They also expanded FAQ'S to keep customers away from live people who they could let go.

And, my biggest pet peeve, they took away jobs away from hundreds of Americans so they could make the very worst more possible and farmed out their CS functions to Filipino sweat shops.

These sweat shops do not collect American taxes, the Filipinos do not put their money back into the American economy and the upper crust of major companies are just getting richer and richer by destroying the American workplace.

Any questions?
 

radiodog2009

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Data will never replace common sense. I probably need to explain what common sense is for everyone under 50.

All you have to do is look around yourself and see how big business operates in our highly enlightened society.

They first went to call directors to eliminate receptionists. Then they added bots to answer questions not commonly asked. They also expanded FAQ'S to keep customers away from live people who they could let go.

And, my biggest pet peeve, they took away jobs away from hundreds of Americans so they could make the very worst more possible and farmed out their CS functions to Filipino sweat shops.

These sweat shops do not collect American taxes, the Filipinos do not put their money back into the American economy and the upper crust of major companies are just getting richer and richer by destroying the American workplace.

Any questions?
I also take issue with your assertion that dispatchers "add no value" to dispatching calls.

Does your dispatch system know the difference between a trash can fire and a high rise fire? Does your system have the the capacity to know the difference between a CVA and a car fire?

Are calls just spit out as first in first out?
 

belvdr

No longer interested in living
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,567
Data will never replace common sense. I probably need to explain what common sense is for everyone under 50.

All you have to do is look around yourself and see how big business operates in our highly enlightened society.

They first went to call directors to eliminate receptionists. Then they added bots to answer questions not commonly asked. They also expanded FAQ'S to keep customers away from live people who they could let go.

And, my biggest pet peeve, they took away jobs away from hundreds of Americans so they could make the very worst more possible and farmed out their CS functions to Filipino sweat shops.

These sweat shops do not collect American taxes, the Filipinos do not put their money back into the American economy and the upper crust of major companies are just getting richer and richer by destroying the American workplace.

Any questions?
What does any of this have to do with a dispatch center? Jobs aren't being removed or replaced. Again, provide data that dispatchers are being replaced with automation. Common sense should tell you it's up to you support a claim you make.
I also take issue with your assertion that dispatchers "add no value" to dispatching calls.

Does your dispatch system know the difference between a trash can fire and a high rise fire? Does your system have the the capacity to know the difference between a CVA and a car fire?

Are calls just spit out as first in first out?
I specifically said, "There's little to no value-add with a person sending tones and an address."

It sounds like you've never heard or experienced automated dispatches before. You seem to think there are no human dispatchers. Listen to a MARCS system, for example, and you'll see how it works. Here's a link to one of them that works very well:


A human answers the call and when ready sends the dispatch. While the automated system is dispatching, the human dispatcher can still be on the phone providing assistance, answering another call, or even respond to other agencies. If anything, it improves their productivity.
 
Last edited:
Top