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| THE PROBLEM: |
| Depoe Bay Fire District was having problems in different areas due to the fact that it never knew which or how many of its
volunteers were responding after dispatch tapped out a call. Though these volunteers are vital to the functioning of the
department, it was not possible to know how much of a response a dispatch would generate. This created issues for personnel
already at the station when an alarm went off, as well as first arriving volunteers. Decisions to go en route with apparatus were
made without any knowledge of who else might or might not be responding. At times, this caused emergency apparatus with
unnecessary small crews to leave for a scene. Other times, departure was uselessly delayed with the hope of more arriving
volunteers, thus wasting precious time. With three stations, there were times that one station would receive an alarm and another
station with a crew would jump the call and start responding to the original station’s alarm. Given the fact that the Depoe Bay
Fire District didn’t know how many, if any, volunteers might show up to the station with the call, this was a smart choice. However,
most times the station that was tapped out would get a full crew, go en route, and thus turn the other station’s crew and apparatus
back. This resulted in wasted fuel and time, and placed one station’s crew and apparatus out of their normal response area. |
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| To summarize, the efficiency of the Depoe Bay Fire District was severely hampered because it didn’t know how many volunteer resources would be available until several minutes after the dispatch was tapped out. |
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| THE SOLUTION: |
| In August 2008, Depoe Bay Fire District signed on for access to the Firefighter Response System. Within 12 hours of implementing the new system, it had already proved itself to be a highly valuable asset to the department. It provided the Depoe Bay Fire District personnel with the missing information they needed, the knowledge of which volunteers are responding instantly after being dispatched. In utilizing the Firefighter Response System, the Depoe Bay Fire District is now able to: |
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Make informed decisions at the station and in the field with real time volunteer resource data. |
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Request additional resources from within the department or from neighboring agencies faster. |
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Lower fuel costs |
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Better utilize their responding volunteers. |
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Make informed decisions on whether to assist with another station’s alarm. |
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Save vital minutes by eliminating the needless waiting for possible responding volunteers who are not coming. |
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| Fire Chief Joshua L. Williams illustrates the value of the system to his department with these words, “Last night we fully
implemented the Firefighter Response System at our three stations. This morning we received a call for a cardiac arrest. Our
career staff headed out on apparatus as usual, and I was shortly behind them. Due to the fact we had this system in place, I
noticed a responding volunteer heading to the station, thus I waited and had another responder to help with the code. I can
tell you that within the first 12 hours of this (the Firefighter Response System) being implemented in the Depoe Bay Fire
District, it has proven to be very valuable to me and the citizens we serve!” |
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| Having this vital real-time volunteer resource information, provided by the Fire Fighter Response System, has allowed Depoe Bay Fire District to run more smoothly and efficiently. |
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