Any FD's "weakest link" can really be anywhere if training, lack of leadership/supervision, planning...all that stuff, is lacking. One of the most CRITICAL but often over-looked link from the time of the fire to the time we return to quarters, is the role of fire communications-and specifically, the dispatchers who are the "first critical link" in first responding.
First Bert's Bar B-Q 9-1-1 Call
Second Bert's Bar B-Q 9-1-1 Call
Dispatchers sometimes take a very unfair beating from firefighters who have never even set foot in the dispatch center. On the other hand, there are dispatchers who wouldn't know an engine from a truck. And then there is the long time issue of "down playing". You know "down-players"...they are the ones in our business from some chiefs to firefighters to dispatchers who take the attitude "that call will probably be nothing"...their years of experience have created so much negative attitude apathy that "they know" the call will be nothing. They don't want to put "all that equipment on the road for nothing". You know the attitude. And while procedures must be in place to determine-based upon what is reported, the right equipment and staffing be sent, we are blown away when some in our business blow off information that "might" be an emergency...or, as some of them say "but what if it is not needed"..?
We don't own the fire apparatus or any of the other stuff. The public owns the stuff....it's theirs. Even if your FD bought it, the cash came from someone(s) outside the membership if your FD. So when "someones" call the FD and THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE A PROBLEM...send them their people and their stuff. Send them the fire apparatus even if it sounds like nothing. Send them their EMS units even though it might be indigestion, Why wouldn't we send even a little MORE than what might be needed? What will it hurt? "Well, what if there is another call!?!?!?" Push the next button. Send other stations. Call mutual aid. Deal properly with the first call first ...with a plan for the other calls. And the possibility of other calls shouldn't be a reason to not send what might be needed for that first call. "But what if they have a wreck responding?" That's a training issue-not a reason to not respond to the slightest possibility of a fire or related problem. If the caller felt it was worth calling-it is worth responding.
Take a listen to these recordings (link below). This unfortunate situation occurred in Texas where a dispatcher-a seasoned dispatcher it seems, downplayed the calls from citizens...until 45 minutes later companies were finally dispatched...and the building was destroyed by fire. The fire was in a Bar B Q restaurant and maybe the smoke was from the restaurant folks "smoking brisket"...but what if they weren't. And they weren't.
