PG County Public Safety Communications

[F/FJunkett]

What is Public Safety Communications and why was it created???? Why was something as important as the Communications Departments removed from the control of the Police and Fire Departments ???? The Fire and Police Chiefs aren't even in the Public Safety Communications Chain of Command, They only sit on an advisory board and information/direction must now flow through the Director of Information Tech & Communications (who knows nothing about Emergency Services much less Police and Fire functions) to the PSC Manager (again knows nothing about Police and Fire functions) to a Fire or Police Manager then to the Comm supervisors (the people who were left and promoted despite quilifications or experience when the FD pulled out, just next in line)to the Dispatchers (the average with less than 1 years experience). How could the Police and Fire Chiefs let this happen?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE "NEW" FIRE COMMUNICATIONS AND WHY.

[This message has been edited by F/FJunkett (edited 02-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by F/FJunkett (edited 02-28-2001).]

[12865]

I have few questions for anyone who works at communications:

why dont they hire part-time? they are SOOOO short staffed its incredible, and god knows there are pleanty of people out there that would like to work there on a part-time basis (both career and volunteer)

why dont they make it a requirement that you have to be an EMT or Firefighter to get hired there, that way you will have a LITTLE bit of a clue

how do the new communications rules affect you guys.

lastly, why do some people love to talk on channel 2 when they are on the ambulance :-) (separate topic)

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12865
co.8

[cpr4u]

Maybe they hire part-time no experiance people so that they can train them and mold them the way they want them to be. If you come in with experiance then you already have your own way of doing things and they may not like that. If they train you from being green, then you work and dispatch the way they want you to.

[11927]

I am a Dispatcher...

As far as the Part-Time...you would have to ask the County.

As for taking the Fire Department Personnel out of Communications...there is still a FD Major still in the building. The Police Department still uses Sworn Officers as the Supervisors on each shift.

There is a requirement to be an EMD, and a First Responder. As for the people that work there, I believe only one of the 28 people does not have Fire Department experience.

We do have a Volunteer Program though.

As for people talking on Channel 2/7.
Companies that use pagers are supposed to mark up on Channel 2/7 so that their companies know that they got out, then they switch to Channel 1.

Any more questions, please feel free to ask.

[12865]

what do you mean, "volunteer program"? People can just come up there and volunteer to dispatch? That sounds like alot of liability..

how do you go about doing this then?

[11927]

and beingg a Volunteer firefighter isn't?

You don't just hop on the radio. You have an extensive training process to get turned over.
First you have to answer phones and send times.
Second, after becoming comfortable with the computer commands, you will begin listening to Channel 1 and typing for the dispatcher while they talk.
Then you will talk and they type.
After felling confident with both, you willl do both. Then you are cut loose on Channel 1.
You will do the same with Channel 2/7.
You will doing firegrounds in there somewheres as well.

[tillerman14]

The volunteers go through the exact same training as someone who is getting paid to do the job.

[DCFDFireman]

Public Safety Communications?

I will be nice and say it this way and those of you who know will understand.

10 years ago they were good.

Compare 10 years ago and today, 10 years ago they were excellent!!

Why, because you had Fireman there, and they knew what the deal was.

I better stop before I get in trouble

[This message has been edited by DCFDFireman (edited 03-02-2001).]

[11927]

DCFD...so what are you saying...everyone there is bad????