Multiple departments in the Austin metropolitan area have implemented a closest unit dispatching protocol for priority 1 medical and fire incidents.
The system, Tellus, is a database installed in dispatch computers that allows emergency teams to locate where an incident happened and find nearby fire units that would be able to respond despite which city the incident occurs in, KVUE reported.
Agencies participating in the new system include the City of Austin, Williamson County, Round Rock, Cedar Park and Georgetown.
Fire officials stated the Tellus system allows dispatchers to send apparatus for all priority 1 calls within seconds compared minutes with the previous model.
Chief James Mallinger told KVUE, because Tellus is so new, they haven't run any data on the efficiency of it yet. The departments are doing their first month of data review right now to ensure that the database is doing what it's intended to do.
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