| Frank C. Schaper |
As the World Turns
| Frank C. Schaper is a Deputy Fire Chief for the St. Louis Fire Department. With 27 years exprience at St. Louis Fire, Schaper developed and implemented the department's training programs. He is also an adjunct instructor with the National Fire Academy. |
This article can be found on
page 82 of the May/June 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
As the world gets more complex, so does firefighting and emergency services. The complexities of life have spilled over into our daily operations. It stands to reason then, as the operations on the street grow more technical, so does the dispatcher's job. The year 2000 is fast approaching. Ready or not here it comes - bringing along new problems and assorted technologies with it. Emergency personnel - including dispatchers - must do more than just "keep up." They have to stay ahead. This is not an easy thing to do with today's tight budgets.
Years ago the dispatching office was not a high tech place to work. There were a few phones, a Gamewell System, typewriters, some running cards, and a microphone. Back then phone numbers began with letters. Things on the street were pretty simple, too. Chief officers carried radios that weighed twelve pounds, had two frequencies, and an on/off switch.
But the world has taken a few turns since then. The communication centers have changed and so has the roll of the dispatcher. The modern day communication center looks more like mission control. Computer-Aided Dispatch has replaced the running cards (don't throw them away though) and Underwood as been replaced by the PC. The dispatchers can now give you time, temperature, and wind direction.
Out on the street, things are different, too. The Incident Commander stays close to the command post. From this mobile office, the I.C. can monitor four or five radio frequencies, answer the cell phone, wait for the dispatchers to fax out the material safety data sheet for methyl-ethel death, check the e-mail, and answer the pager.
Yes, the job has surely changed. Thirty years ago sending an engine company on a cardiac arrest was in its infancy. Today dispatchers not only send them but give CPR instructions to the 9-1-1 caller. Today firefighters are just as apt to come off the engine with an oxygen bottle and an automated external defibrillator as they are a self-contained breathing apparatus and fire hose. However, still today, in many jurisdictions the phrase, "Engine 32 respond to a cardiac arrest" is not in their vernacular. These are the agencies that need to play catch up with the rest of the world.
But let's face it, the complexities of the job and the new technology have led to more than one early retirement amongst dispatchers and fire service personnel. The demands and stress of the job have increased and will continue to do so. The jobs that so many of us love are not cut out for everyone to do. They truly call for special people to hold them. Are you one of those special people? Are you ready to go into the year 2000? Is your agency ready for the new millennium?
Ready or not the world keeps turning. As emergency dispatchers and responders, we must be ready because that next call might not be for a fire or cardiac arrest, but for a terrorist attack. Now what will you do?
