Run Cards, standardization.

[Chief Taylor]

I am looking for any SOP/SOG's for Fire/EMS dispatches to help my agency streamline the process.(Run Cards)

I work on the floor, but was a part time dispatcher many years ago and have been getting frustrated at no two calls being dispatched the same in my department.

A residencial structure fire should be dispatched as such, I get Chimney fire, stove fire, smoke in a house etc, etc.

If anybody has any run card stremline info that I could access or obtain, please contact me and lets improve our service.





[This message has been edited by Chief Taylor (edited 03-23-2001).]

[TruroFAO]

Chief-

Our fire department has it's own in-house alarm office. We do not dispatch for police, only our department. I've often thought that police dispatchers have no business dispatching for fire and vice versa...It just doesn't work...On to your inquiry...

We have standardized dispatching incidents according to building type. A resedential strucure has two types of assignments: a fire alarm, and everything else. A fire alarm draws two engines, but anything else in that type structure (any kind of fire, gas leak, smoke in the house) draws 2 engines, a ladder, a heavy rescue and medic. The alarm office tells us what it is (fire, smoke in house, gas leak), but the assignment is still the same. We call this an 'A' assignment.

A 'B' assignment is for high life hazard places, like commerical buildings, apartment complexes, or resteraunts. A fire alarm still gets two engines, but any other kind of incident (structure fire, gas leak, smoke in building) gets 3 engines, 2 ladders, a heavy rescue and a medic.

Assignments differ a bit for other incidents away from structures. Car fires, grass fires, trash fires and the like only get one engine. This is if the fire away from the building. If it's next to a building (a car on fire next to the building, for example) would draw an assignment according to the type of building it is...

Our department recently helped a department to our east with a similar problem. My email is in my profile. I would be happy to talk further...

Best wishes...

[Murray_Co_ff213]

depending what type of department you run I might be able to help by posting ours. We run a vol dept here 6 stations in a rural enviroment each has a engine and a tanker plus 1 ft officer on duty during the week days, other than that it is all vol.
sop are

trailor- 2 eng 2 tanker
house- 2 eng 3tanker
comercial/apartments
Churches or mills- 3eng 4 tnk plus 1eng and 1 areial on mutual aid from the city
and a medic
car fire- 1 eng
brush fire- 1 eng unless threatining structure then 1eng and 1 tnk
MVA's- 1 eng

I hope this helps if not maybee someone else will need it.


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Derek

[Chief Taylor]

Thank you for the input, I guess that I was and am not very clear on what I am looking for.

We have the Assignment cards. ie: numbers and types of units responding, what I am looking for is more a terminolgy thing.

What I am looking for is standardization for calls that come in for any particular incident.

IE: Structure fire

Dispatcher #1 puts it our as a "KITCHEN FIRE"
Dispatcher #2 puts out the same as "RESIDENCIAL FIRE: FIRE IN THE KITCHEN"
Dispatcher #3 puts it out as "SMOKE IN A STRUCTURE"

I am looking at all dispatchers put out the same response all the same.

" PRE-TONES= "STRUCTURE FIRE-DISPTRICT #2
ACTUAL DISPATCH= REPORTED RESIDENCIAL STRUCTURE FIRE/FIRE IN THE KITCHEN 215 NORTH ELM STREET.

THEN DISPATCH THE UNITS, ENGINE AND RESCUE 2 ETC, ETC.

[Captain Gonzo]

Have you thought about a script for the dispatchers to go by when dispatching? Then all of the players would be playing off the same sheet of music.

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Firefighters: rising to accept the challenge!
Captain Gonzo

[FD111]

Chief, we have a standard dispatch or script if you want to call it that.
Ours is as follows :
1)Tones
2)Units to respond
3)Type of incident
4)Address
5)Map pages
6)Repeat steps 2 - 5
7)Time of dispatch
The way we are to dispatch the call is to dispatch what the type of call is (residential fire, smoke in the residence, etc, etc), then once units are enroute we advise the specific, ( kitchen fire, stove fire, etc, etc).
I hope this helps out.


Mike Butler
Montgomery County Hospital District EMS
Fire and EMS Communications Center

[Lieut14]

In our system all structure fires are dispatched as either a house or building fire. This being regardless of the nature, as in chimneys, appliances, etc. basically anything reported on fire inside the structure. This solicits the required run assignment. When the first due engine responds they are advised of the nature, as in chimney fire, appliance inside etc. The only change is if the alarm is known to be working (by information gathered from callers) it is dispatched as a working house or building fire.