Rancho Cucamonga to hire different emergency dispatch agency
After 34 years contracting with the city of Ontario for its emergency dispatch services, the Rancho Cucamonga has decided to hire a different agency.
With the hopes of implementing the more enhanced Emergency Medical Dispatch system, the City Council voted 4-0, with Councilman Rex Gutierrez absent on Wednesday, to begin contract talks with Consolidated Fire Agencies of the East Valley, or ConFire.
ConFire provides call services to the fire departments of Rialto, Colton, Loma Linda, Redlands and San Bernardino County.
"It's not that there was anything wrong with the way we were doing it," Mayor Don Kurth said.
"We felt that we could do better."
The decision to switch contracts stems from the council's desire to implement Emergency Medical Dispatch, a structured triage system that is viewed as more detailed than the current "call-typing" system used by the Ontario Communications Center.
Fire Chief Peter Bryan said the current system takes the emergency call and breaks it up in categories, while the Emergency Medical Dispatch system uses more detailed sub categories to ensure the emergency is adequately served.
"It's very difficult to do that with 'call typing' because it doesn't have a structured set of questions under a physician directed system," Bryan said.
ConFire could begin providing emergency call services this fall to the city.
Depending on contract negotiations, the city could spend about $250,000 in one-time capital costs and an increase of about $150,000 more in annual costs for hiring ConFire.
The new system will allow the city to provide a higher level of service with more advanced technology, Bryan said.
"This is another tool in the tool box and potentially, in the case of EMD, a whole new drawer in the tool box," he said.
wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com
The decision to switch contracts stems from the council's desire to implement Emergency Medical Dispatch, a structured triage system that is viewed as more detailed than the current "call-typing" system used by the Ontario Communications Center.
Fire Chief Peter Bryan said the current system takes the emergency call and breaks it up in categories, while the Emergency Medical Dispatch system uses more detailed sub categories to ensure the emergency is adequately served.
"It's very difficult to do that with 'call typing' because it doesn't have a structured set of questions under a physician directed system," Bryan said.
ConFire could begin providing emergency call services this fall to the city.
Depending on contract negotiations, the city could spend about $250,000 in one-time capital costs and an increase of about $150,000 more in annual costs for hiring ConFire.
The new system will allow the city to provide a higher level of service with more advanced technology, Bryan said.
"This is another tool in the tool box and potentially, in the case of EMD, a whole new drawer in the tool box," he said.
wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com
If as the Mayor states, there is nothing wrong with the current system, why spend $250, 000 plus an additional $150,000 a year when there is a budget crisis and you are already making other cuts in essential services?
Save it for when the government financial situatiion improves.
looks like they should of tried to get ontario to rearrange there dispatch on how they intake there calls.