9 1 1 & Fire Dispatch Services. diverse. vast. abundant.

Transcription

1 9 1 1 & Fire Dispatch Services diverse. vast. abundant.

2 Service Establishment The & Fire Dispatch service is a regional service that was established in 1999 by the Peace River Regional District. The function provides for : emergency call answer services fire dispatch for 11 fire departments PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch Services

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4 Service Providers: Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP) The RCMP provides PSAP Services through the Operational Communications Centre in Prince George $500,000 $450,000 In December 2013, the PRRD entered into a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deliver the service after 18 months of contract negotiation $400,000 $350,000 $300,000 $250,000 The MOU may be terminated be either party by giving 12 months written notice $200,000 $150,000 RCMP service costs have increased: 343% since 2002 to 2015 (~100,000 to $440,000) 46% from 2010 to 2015 (~ $301,000 to $440,000) $100,000 $50,000 $ The RCMP handle approximately 17,000 per year PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch Services

5 Service Providers: Fire Dispatch Dawson Creek Fire Department Provides dispatch for 7 fire departments & handles approximately 700 calls per year Cost increases: 83% from 2002 to 2015 (~122,000 to $225,000) 21% from 2009 to 2015 (~ $186,000 to $225,000) Fort St John Fire Department Provides dispatch for 4 fire departments & handles approximately 1,000 calls per year Cost increases: 75% from 2002 to 2015 (~$122,000 to $215,00) 11% from 2009 to 2015 (~ $186,000 to $225,000) The PRRD has no formal agreement with the Cities of Dawson Creek or Fort St John for fire dispatch Funding formal is based on a letter of intent from 2000 which provides an annual fee for service based on the cost of two first year fire fighters (wages and benefits) to each department The PRRD pays for core dispatch equipment repair, maintenance and replacement PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch Services

6 911/Fire Dispatch Review 2012 Strategic Plan identified that the Regional District should examine the 911/Fire Dispatch function for effectiveness and efficiency RFP was issued in 2012 and Pomax was the successful proponent PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch

7 Results from the Review of Call Answer & Fire Dispatch Services June 11, 2015

8 Background July 5, 2012: the PRRD Board approved contracting with Pomax Consulting to conduct a review with the following scope of work: Determine service effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of the call answering service and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings; Determine service effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of the fire dispatch services and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings; and, Examine the possible use of call answering as a point to report oil and gas emergencies. 8

9 Background (continued) August through November 2012: the consulting team completed this review using the following research and evaluation methodology: collect, review and evaluate legislation, industry guidelines, existing reports, operating data, technologies, finances, and more; interview stakeholders and visit sites; prepare progress reports and perform onsite reviews with Peace River Regional District staff; and prepare a baseline report. March 2015: Pomax Consulting completed a review and update of the 2012 Baseline Report with updates regarding and technology given recent changes in service in BC. 9

10 Findings: Call Answer During the review, the consulting team determined that the contracted service is delivered in an effective manner by the RCMP, however costs have risen to $445,000 annually (see Appendix E ). At the time of writing the initial report, contracting an alternative service provider had technical and resulting financial constraints; however in the interim TELUS has made it possible for calls to be answered anywhere in the province. As a result, E-Comm (Vancouver) has recently assumed call answer services for the majority of the province, including most areas that were previously handled by the RCMP. These important changes provide a new opportunity for seeking competitive alternatives. 10

11 Findings: Call Answer (cont d) The Peace River Regional District addressing process and system are state of the art, and could serve as an example for many regional districts. Some immediate process improvements are required throughout the province in order to get the best possible location information for emergencies services (Section 2.8). During the initial review Pomax identified efforts that could be undertaken to improve notification and response to oil and gas emergencies. The notification steps may be more difficult with an alternative Call Answer provider, however a coordinated effort between emergency services and industry can still be undertaken to look at safer response options. 11

12 Key Considerations The RCMP have clearly stated that is not part of their core business; as a result, in 2014 four regional districts moved from the RCMP to E-Comm; several others are evaluating alternative options at this time. Contracting for Call Answer Services is less expensive then paying for the current RCMP requirement of 3.4 FTE employees. Next Generation requires extensive in-house support for new networks, equipment, and changes to operational procedures; choosing a service provider that already has these capabilities and is prepared for the future will result in offsetting a significant portion of future costs. 12

13 Recommendations: Call Answer 1. Pomax recommends that the Regional District conduct a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) process to determine if there are more cost effective options for the provision of Call Answer service upon conclusion of the existing contract or sooner if the provisions of the contract permit. 2. Have the civic addressing team take a lead role provincially to coordinate the improvement of addressing information for call answer and emergency services dispatch; As well, immediate action should be taken to rectify the differences between provincial and regional district road names. 3. Collaborate on ways to improve notification and response to Oil and Gas emergencies. 13

14 Findings: Fire Dispatch During the review, the consulting team determined that the contracted fire dispatch services are delivered in an effective manner. In comparison to alternative fire dispatch providers from outside the Peace River Regional District, the current model is very expensive. Costs could be mitigated by moving to one fire dispatch for the region, however, this still would be considerably more expensive in comparison to other options e.g. a Fee for Service contract. Responsibility for Fire Dispatch equipment and maintenance; two Models have been detailed in the report, however the choice is dependent on the future direction for Fire Dispatch Services. 14

15 Findings: Fire Dispatch (continued) The industry standard for fire dispatch centres in North America is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1221: Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. The Peace River Regional District does not address any performance standards for call answer and dispatch with its current fire dispatch service providers. NFPA 1221 requires service providers to have an alternate communications centre, that when staffed, can perform the same functions as the primary communications centre; the ability for real-time redundancy/back-up must be a priority. Regular and coordinated review and feedback from the communities served by Fire Dispatch services needs to occur in the future. 15

16 Key Fire Dispatch Considerations Options to consider (per Appendix F in the report): Continue with current 2 Dispatch Centre model with improvements i.e. formalized contract for service (per page 31), meet NFPA standards for performance and back-up, and review the costs to provide dedicated dispatchers; Consolidate to 1 Dispatch Centre in the Region with the same improvements noted above. Fee for Service contract with a provider outside the Region. Existing dispatch centre equipment is reaching end of life and will need to be replaced in the next 1 to 3 years. Currently the regional district owns and maintains the equipment; estimated future costs are between $500,000 and $750,000 if fire dispatch remains in the region; cost reduction or avoidance is possible with a Fee for Service contract. Finding and maintaining dispatch staff will be a challenge. 16

17 Recommendations: Fire Dispatch 1. Pomax recommends that the Regional District pursue the option of contracting an alternative fire dispatch provider with full-time dispatchers to replace both the South and North Region fire dispatch centres; OR alternatively, create a combined, single regional fire dispatch centre with full-time dispatchers at one of the existing centres. 2. Develop and implement a service contract with either the city of Fort St. John or an alternate service provider structured such that the contractor is responsible for all aspects of the fire dispatch service delivery, including the supply and maintenance of all equipment, technology and performance standards. If the PRRD is to keep fire dispatch locally, Fort St. John is better suited to this role in terms of facilities and equipment than Dawson Creek. 3. In order to determine which direction to follow, a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) process would assist. 17

18 18 Questions?

19 Next Steps: & Fire Dispatch Step 1: Request for Expressions Of Interest Step 1: Issue Two Requests for Expressions of Interest 1) Services 2) Fire Dispatch Services Step 3: Report back to Board on findings & options Step 3: Bring forward report to the Board on the findings and options on how to proceed Step 2: Review Expressions of Interest Received Step 2: Review Expressions Of Interest received by service providers PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch

20 Next Steps: Civic Addressing Work with Northwest Tel to require civic addresses for landline installations Work with Ministry of Transportation on road naming and signage Consider working towards sharing our addressing processes to help lead a discussion with other agencies across the provide to develop guidelines and standards for GIS addressing provincially PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch

21 Questions? PEACE RIVER REGIONAL DISTRICT & Fire Dispatch

22 REPORT To: Chair & Directors Date: June 4, 2015 From: Trish Morgan, Manager of Community Services Subject: Authorization to proceed with a Request for Expressions of Interest for Public Safety Answer Point and Fire Dispatch Services RECOMMENDATIONS: (1) That the Committee of the Whole recommend to the Regional Board that: A. staff be authorized to issue a Request for Expressions of Interest to identify agencies and organizations who may be interested in providing Public Safety Answer Point Service (PSAP); and B. upon receipt and review of the expressions of interest, that staff develop a report for the Regional Board with options on how to proceed based on the findings. AND/ (2) That the Committee of the Whole recommend to the Regional Board that: A. staff be authorized to issue a Request for Expressions of Interest to identify agencies and organizations who may be interested in providing fire dispatch services; B. that the Request for Expressions of Interest document provide for the flexibility of an agency to express their interest in providing fire dispatch services for either the North Peace, the South Peace or the entire Peace Region; and C. upon receipt and review of the expressions of interest, that staff develop a report for the Regional Board with options on how to proceed. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: In 2012 the Regional District contracted Pomax Inc. to: 1. Determine service effectiveness, efficiency and affordability of the call answering services and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings; 2. Determine the service effectiveness, efficiency and affordability of the fire dispatch service and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings; and 3. Examine the possible use of call answering as a point to report oil and gas emergencies. Pomax updated their review in 2015 and two of the key recommendations are as follows: 1) Conduct a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to determine if there are potential Call Answer providers and the approximate cost. (P. 37) 2) Pursue the option of contracting an alternative fire dispatch provider with full-time dispatchers to replace both the South and North Region fire dispatch centres, or alternatively, create a combined, single regional fire dispatch centre with full-time dispatchers at one of the existing centres. (P. 36) Staff Initials: Dept. Head: CAO: Page 1 of 3

23 Report Chair and Directors June 4, 2015 Page 2 of 3 It is important to recognize in the Pomax report that although the current contracted and fire dispatch services are delivered in an effective manner (p. 35), that the Regional District is facing rapidly increasing costs to provide the service, and as a result of Next Generation (NG911), it will continue to increase substantially in the future (as much as 30%). Alternative service providers may be able to provide the same level of service at a reduced cost due to economies of scale and may be positioned better to manage the increasing work load, costs and management of changing technology and equipment, risk management/liability and records management that will follow with the implementation of NG911. Following the recommendations in the Pomax report, staff is suggesting that the Regional District move forward with issuing two separate Requests for Expressions of Interest one for Primary Safety Answer Point Services and one for fire dispatch services. This strategy will provide the Regional District the opportunity to identify potential service providers but does not obligate the Regional District to make any changes at this time. It will also provide an opportunity for our current contract service providers to consider if they are still interested in providing the service in the future. What is a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI)? An RFEI is used to determine whether or not there is sufficient market interest to proceed to a competitive bidding process in the future for a particular service. There is no evaluation, ranking, or selection of vendors as a result and it is not be used to pre-qualify or screen vendors for a subsequent competitive bidding process. In the event there is sufficient interest in providing the particular service, the Regional District may, but is not obligated to, initiate a competitive bidding opportunity. Note that the Regional District Purchasing Policy does not discuss RFEI s as an option, as a RFEI is not a purchasing tool, but simply a tool to explore whether there may be a provider of a service (or goods) in the market place. If there is sufficient interest in providing a service, the Board may direct staff to issue a Request for Proposal, which would follow the Regional District s Purchasing Policy. STRATEGIC PLAN RELEVANCE: The PRRD will provide cost effective access to protective and emergency services including 911 call services by 2018 to its residents. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION(S): costs of advertising the RFEI. COMMUNICATIONS CONSIDERATION(S): The two Requests for Expressions of Interest will be advertised on/in: - the Regional District website - Northeast News - CivicInfo - BC Bid Information will also be sent directly to our current contract service providers (RCMP, City of Dawson Creek, City of Fort St John) to ensure that they have an opportunity to consider and respond with an expression of interest, if they so choose.

24 Report Chair and Directors June 4, 2015 Page 3 of 3 OTHER CONSIDERATION(S): please see the following: 1) Presentation on & Fire Dispatch Services 2) Emergency Call Answer Service and Fire Dispatch Service Review: March 2015 (Pomax Inc.) 3) Letter from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, September 6, ) 2015 Budget Working Paper for Emergency Telephone System 5) Call Count History 6) 9-1-1/Fire Dispatch Historical & Projected Costs 7) & Fire Dispatch Diagram Please note that items 3 through 6 will also be provided at the Committee of the Whole meeting in paper format.

25 EMERGENCY CALL ANSWER SERVICE AND FIRE DISPATCH SERVICE REVIEW March 23, 2015

26 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary... i i. Introduction... i ii. Methodology... i iii. Findings... i iv. Recommendations...ii 1. Overview Purpose of this Review Background Methodology Review of the Scope of Work Findings and Discussion Analysis of Current Fire Dispatch Industry Standards and Best Practices Fire Dispatch Redundancy/Back-up Overall Fire Dispatch Analysis and Options with Current Providers Review of Fire Dispatch Equipment Current Inventory Responsibility for Equipment Purchase and Maintenance Analysis of Emergency Service Function and Bylaw Civic Addressing Process and Systems Analysis of Existing Contracts Alternative Service Delivery Considerations New Public Safety Answering Point Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions Recommendations Appendices... 2 Appendix A Acronyms... 2 Appendix B NFPA Alarm Time Line... 3 Appendix C Call Flow and Statistics... 4 Appendix D Peace River Regional Population Projections Appendix E Escalating RCMP Services Contract Estimates... 6

27 Appendix F Cost Comparison Between Fire Dispatch Models Figure 1. Emergency call routing... 3 Figure 2: South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre (2012)... 7 Figure 3: North Peace Fie Dispatch Centre (2015)... 11

28 Building in Dawson Creek

29 I. Executive Summary i. Introduction This report presents a review of the Peace River Regional District call answering and fire dispatch services as completed by the Pomax consulting team. The purpose of the review was to: (1) determine service effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of the call answering service and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings, (2) determine service effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of the fire dispatch service and propose operating options for service improvement and cost savings, and (3) examine the possible use of call answering as a point to report oil and gas emergencies. The options and recommendations presented by the consulting team were tempered with the understanding that the Peace River Regional District is striving to achieve an enhanced level of service delivery at an acceptable cost to the public, especially considering the recent significant cost increases for both and fire dispatch full-time equivalent personnel. ii. Methodology The consulting team completed this review using the following research and evaluation methodology: (a) collect, review and evaluate legislation, industry guidelines, existing reports, operating data, technologies, finances, and more; (b) interview stakeholders and visit sites; (c) prepare progress reports and perform onsite reviews with Peace River Regional District staff; and (d) prepare a baseline report. iii. Findings Through this review, the consulting team has determined that the current contracted and fire dispatch services are delivered in an effective manner. At the same time in comparison to alternative fire dispatch providers from outside the Peace River Regional District the current model is also very expensive. Costs could be mitigated by moving to a "single fire dispatch system" for the region. This change, however, would still be considerably more expensive in comparison to other systems. The predicted growth in the region does not change the future economics for local fire dispatch in the region. The future fire dispatch contract should include a requirement for meeting NFPA 1221, as well as a requirement for the delivery of real-time redundancy/backup. Page i

30 The inventory of fire dispatch equipment is in very good condition. The consulting team recommended a minimal number of replacements or upgrades. Since the time of the writing of this report, significant changes by TELUS for the interconnection of switching equipment has made it possible for calls to be answered anywhere in the province. As a result, E-Comm has recently assumed call answer services for the majority of the province, including most areas that were previously handled by the RCMP. The Peace River Regional District has entered into a new five year contract with the RCMP for Call Answer. We recommend that the Regional District conduct a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) to determine if other Call Answer centres in the province may be interested in providing contracted call answer service at the conclusion of the existing contract period or sooner if the contract termination provisions permit. The Peace River Regional District addressing process and system are state of the art, and could serve as an example for many regional districts. The Peace River Regional District team should take a lead in the province to make this happen. iv. Recommendations The consulting team recommends the following: Fire Dispatch Services For fire dispatching services, the Peace River Regional District should: 1. Pursue the option of contracting an alternative fire dispatch provider with full-time dispatchers to replace both the South and North Region fire dispatch centres, or alternatively, create a combined, single regional fire dispatch centre with full-time dispatchers at one of the existing centres. The contract should be structured such that the contractor is responsible for all aspects of the fire dispatch service delivery, including the supply and maintenance of all fire dispatch centre related equipment and technology. 2. Ensure that new fire dispatch service contracts include conditions that the service provider meets NFPA 1221 requirements including real-time redundancy/backup and service delivery standards. 3. Ensure the regional fire chiefs meetings (held twice a year) include a specific activity to address fire dispatch. (This activity should utilize the same format the Pomax Consulting team followed during the fire departments meeting on August 27, 2012.) Page ii

31 Fire Equipment Inventory For fire equipment inventory, the Peace River Regional District should: 1. Adopt Model B for future equipment purchase and maintenance, including any new or upgraded equipment for the dispatch centre. See Equipment Purchase and Maintenance Model B. 2. Replace the Zetron dispatch communications consoles, which will be 10 years old in Upgrade or replace the current inventory of system equipment with a focus on standardization. 4. Ensure appropriate budgeting is maintained for system equipment and technology replacement or upgrades on an approximate ten-year service life cycle. Pomax Consulting has not reviewed the status of the fire dispatch equipment inventory with respect to any changes or upgrades that may have occurred since the writing of the original report except NICE and Zetron equipment Services The Peace River Regional District should: 1. Conduct a Request for Expression of Interest process to determine if other Call Answer centres can provide this service for the region at the conclusion of the existing 5 year contract or sooner if the contract termination provisions permit. 2. Undertake the two-staged collaboration process detailed in the section entitled, A Staged Approach to Creating an Oil and Gas Emergency Call Response System." However having the centre answer Oil and Gas Emergency calls may preclude a possible move to another Call Answer centre as other centres may consider the oil and gas industry as outside their scope. 3. Have the civic addressing team take a lead role provincially to coordinate the improvement of addressing information. Page iii

32 1. Overview 1.1. Purpose of this Review This report presents the findings of a review of the Peace River Regional District call answering and fire dispatch services as completed by the Pomax Consulting team. The purpose of the review was to determine service effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of the call answering and fire dispatch services and propose operating options for improvement and cost savings. The review also examined the possible use of call answering as an oil and gas emergency reporting point. The "Review of the Scope of Work" section provides a detailed description of the work completed for these elements. The results of this review should enable stakeholders to: (1) see the current state of operation of the call answering and fire dispatch services, and (2) review informed options for improving the services Background Description of Government and Demographics The Peace River Regional District provides local government services to approximately 60,000 people in seven incorporated municipalities and four electoral areas covering a geographic area of 120,000 km 2. Sixty-five percent of the population resides in the urban municipalities of Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, Hudson s Hope, Taylor and Pouce Coupe. The remaining 33% percent of the population is distributed across the vast unincorporated area of the regional district, plus 2% in First Nations areas. The Peace River Regional District is a federation of both urban and rural areas governed by a 12-member board consisting of eight directors appointed by seven municipalities and four electoral directors elected by voters in four electoral areas. Each municipality or electoral area participates in a variety of regional or local services, paid for through numerous individual budgets and a variety of cost sharing formulas. Current Call Answering Services Currently, the Peace River Regional District coordinates addressing and trunk-line communications with TELUS and Northwest Tel to provide enhanced emergency call answering service. The Peace River Regional District contracts with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (hereafter referred to as RCMP) to be the public safety answering point located in Prince George, BC, which receives, on average, 17,000 calls per year. 1 P a g e

33 Emergency calls are routed through different dispatch services depending on the location and type of emergency response required. Policing calls (65 percent) are dispatched through the RCMP Prince George dispatch centre. Ambulance calls (20 percent) are dispatched through BC Ambulance s Kamloops dispatch centre. Fire calls (5 percent) are screened to determine if they are within the fire protection service area, then screened and routed to either North Peace (Fort St. John Fire Hall Dispatch) or South Peace (Dawson Creek Fire hall) which then dispatch the 11 fire departments shown in Figure 1 on page 3. Future Involvement of Oil and Gas Commission Following a natural gas pipeline leak in November 2009 near the community of Pouce Coupe, public concern identified the need for a quick, efficient, and easy-to-remember way for the public to contact the Oil and Gas Commission emergency response team 24/7. The Peace River Regional District offered the Oil and Gas Commission the opportunity to examine whether the enhanced emergency call answering service, funded by the Peace River Regional District, could be used to receive calls from the public reporting oil and gas emergencies (i.e., gas leaks, sour gas smells, etc.). Although there are no formal agreements in place to provide for this service, the public on occasion has dialed to report unusual noises and odors believed to be from oil and gas activity. The Peace River Regional District feels this service could be provided through a public safety answering point but needs the Oil and Gas Commission to identify if they see value in being part of the emergency call answer service. Ownership of Dispatch Equipment Dawson Creek Fire Rescue provides dispatch for seven fire departments in South Peace, while Fort St. John Fire Rescue provides fire dispatch service for four fire departments in North Peace. The Peace River Regional District owns and currently maintains, through a service contract with a third party, the equipment utilized by Dawson Creek Fire Department and Fort St. John Fire Department to receive public safety answering point calls and dispatch these calls. The Peace River Regional District also owns most of the equipment to provide dispatch services for ten of the eleven fire departments. 2 P a g e

34 Figure 1. Emergency call routing 911 Calls 911 Dispatch in Prince George Ambulance calls Fire calls Police calls South Peace North Peace BCAS in Kamloops Dawson Creek Fire Dept. Fort St. John Fire Dept. RCMP Vehicles or Detachment closest to incident site Ambulance Stations closest to incident site Chetwynd Dawson Creek Fort St. John Hudson s Hope Tumbler Ridge Fire Dept. / Fire Society in Arras Chetwynd Dawson Creek Moberly Lake Pouce Coupe Tomslake Tumbler Ridge Fire Dept. / Fire Society for Beryl Prairie Charlie Lake Fort St. John Hudson s Hope Taylor Incident Site 3 P a g e

35 1.3. Methodology Given the above background, the consulting team completed this review using the following research and evaluation methodology: 1. Collect, review and evaluate: a. Current administrative, organizational, legislation, guidelines and industry standards b. Existing reports, studies, and relevant literature c. Available dispatch call data and statistics d. Current computer aided dispatch, geographic information system, radio, telephone and recording systems e. Current financial information f. Aspects of existing emergency service dispatch resources 2. Interview and consult with stakeholders 3. Complete site visits of dispatch centres 4. Prepare progress reports 5. Perform on-site reviews with Peace River Regional District staff 6. Prepare a baseline report 1.4. Review of the Scope of Work The scope of work can be analyzed into three main sections: fire dispatch services, call answering services, and using services for oil and gas emergency reporting. Fire Dispatch Service Review the fire dispatch services provided by the City of Fort St. John and the City of Dawson Creek. Identify industry standards and best practices. Make recommendations for fire dispatch redundancy. Identify and inventory fire dispatch equipment; make recommendations for equipment replacement or upgrades. Review and provide recommendations on who has the responsibility for equipment purchase and maintenance in relation to fire dispatch. Review the Peace River Regional District s emergency service function and bylaw Call Answering Services Seek the RCMP input in inspecting, reviewing and evaluating the existing memorandum of understanding with the RCMP to provide a public safety answering point through the 4 P a g e

36 Prince George Operational Communications Centre. Since the original report was completed the PRRD has entered into a new 5 year contract with the RCMP for call answer. Identify possible deficiencies in existing contracts as compared to industry standards. Examine addressing processes and systems to identify possible shortfalls; Comment specifically on the Geographical Information Systems and Development Services Department role and processes for ensuring accurate mapping and addressing data for emergency response providers [additional detail added during Scope of Work clarification process]. Identify possible alternative service providers when compared to existing cost and quality, while maintaining the same (or increased) level of service, reliability and redundancy. At the time of writing the original report, technology limitations made geographically distant alternate call answer service providers very difficult to justify because of the cost of telephone connections. Those limitations have been largely removed making service from distant providers more competitive with closer sources. Make recommendations which include scope of operations, quality of work, performance standards, and budget requirements Call Service for Oil and Gas Emergency Reporting Examine whether the public safety answering point could be effectively utilized to report oil and gas emergencies from a legal and practical point of view. Propose processes, systems, and equipment needed to respond to oil and gas emergency calls. Recommend how to implement a call system to report oil and gas emergencies. 5 P a g e

37 2. Findings and Discussion 2.1. Analysis of Current Fire Dispatch South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre Dawson Creek Overview The Dawson Creek Fire Department operates the South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre, located in the Dawson Creek Fire Station at A Street in Dawson Creek. The city of Dawson Creek provides fire dispatch services to the Peace River Regional District through a proposal letter that was approved in May The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre provides emergency call answer and dispatch service for: Dawson Creek Fire Department Arras Volunteer Fire Department Chetwynd Volunteer Fire Department Moberly Lake Volunteer Fire Department Pouce Coupe Volunteer Fire Department Tomslake and District Fire Department Tumbler Ridge Volunteer Fire Department 6 P a g e

38 Figure 2: South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre (2012) 7 P a g e

39 Facility Description The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre is part of the fire hall administration and reception area at the front entrance of the building. During regular business hours a receptionist/dispatcher looks after the dispatch centre and reception. Telephone calls can be answered at one other location in the fire hall, but all dispatch activities must be performed from the dispatch centre. The radio communications equipment rack, which the consulting team observed to be orderly and relatively free of dust and debris, is located in the fire dispatch centre adjacent to the TELUS equipment. Since 2012, the fire dispatch centre has been secured from public access by way of a locked door with key pad entry access. Additionally, the entire fire station has emergency back-up power that automatically starts in the event of a power disruption. Technology and Equipment The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre is a relatively well equipped centre using industry standard fire dispatch and communications equipment. The centre does not use a computer aided dispatch application but does use a FirePro records management system. Since they do not have a computer aided dispatch system, the shift captain documents incidents using a paper incident capture system; these details are subsequently manually input into the FirePro records management system by the receptionist/dispatcher. Fire department alerting and communications are handled using a Zetron communication and dispatch console. Telephone and radio communications are recorded and archived using the NICE audio recorder. A Zetron instant recall recorder is used to for instant audio replaying needs. Operations Primary dispatch and voice communications between the South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre and the various agencies are handled via direct land-mobile radio communications or a CSI 9800 telephone interconnect with satellite backup system. Dispatches to Chetwynd, Moberly Lake, and Tumbler Ridge are completed using CSI 9800 telephone interconnects. The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre is not connected to these departments throughout the incident; instead, the department is disconnected from the dispatch centre. Once disconnected, the agency can reconnect with the dispatch centre via the telephone interconnect system but some departments choose to call the dispatch centre via cell phone. Once these departments become disconnected from the South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre, their radio communications are no longer recorded. 8 P a g e

40 Staffing The South Peace Fire Dispatch is staffed by a receptionist/dispatcher between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, and by a firefighter/dispatcher during other hours. The receptionist/ dispatcher spends most of her time in the centre during regular business hours. In addition to answering emergency calls and dispatching fire departments, the receptionist / dispatcher also performs administrative and clerical duties for the city of Dawson Creek Fire Department. Firefighter/ dispatchers perform typical firefighter station duties (such as training, equipment checks, maintenance, etc.) and are only required to be in the dispatch centre when answering emergency calls and dispatching fire departments. When the centre is staffed by a firefighter/dispatcher and a call is received for the Dawson Creek Fire Department, the firefighter/dispatcher remains in the dispatch centre performing all required support functions and answering and dispatching other emergency calls. The Peace River Regional District funds two full-time-equivalent positions at a 100 percent firstclass firefighter rate to provide fire dispatch service. Training The receptionist / dispatcher is trained to the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials fire service communications level. All new firefighters receive six week of fire department training involving 13 components. As part of this training, five of the components relate to fire dispatching. Workload The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre handles 680 calls for service annually (5 year average). Policies and Procedures The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre does not have any policies or procedures for the dispatch nor do they have a formalized, structured quality assurance program in place. Issues or problems related to incidents are investigated as they arise. 9 P a g e

41 North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre Fort St. John Overview The Fort St. John Fire Department operates the North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre which is located in the Fort St. John Fire Station at Avenue in Fort St. John. The city of Fort St. John provides fire dispatch services to the Peace River Regional District through a proposal letter that was approved in May The North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre provides emergency call answer and dispatch service for: Fort St. John Fire Department Charlie Lake Fire Department Hudson Hope Fire and Rescue Service (includes Beryl Prairie area) Taylor Fire Rescue 10 P a g e

42 Figure 3: North Peace Fie Dispatch Centre (2015) Facility Description The fire dispatch facility is located at the front of the building next to the shift captain s office and adjacent to the main entrance. The dispatch centre is separated from the rest of the facility and access is controlled by way of an electronically locked door. The dispatch centre is staffed by a firefighter/dispatcher. There are 12 firefighters trained as dispatchers that regularly rotate through the position. Telephone calls can also be answered at four other locations in the fire station but all dispatch activities must be performed from the dispatch centre. The radio communications equipment rack and TELUS equipment are located in the equipment room located on the second floor of the fire station. While the equipment installation was not viewed in person, the Fort St. John Fire Department provided photographs of the equipment room and the equipment installation and the room appears to be spacious, clean, and well-organized. Technology and Equipment The North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre is a well-equipped centre using industry standard fire dispatch and communications equipment. 11 P a g e

43 North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre uses FDM Software computer aided dispatch and records management systems. Agencies dispatched by the North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre are unit dispatched, meaning that the dispatcher identifies the initial fire apparatus that are to respond to an incident based on agency specific protocols that are pre-determined for each incident type. Fire department alerting and communications are handled using a Zetron communication and dispatch console. Telephone and radio communications are recorded and archived using the NICE audio recorder and a Zetron instant recall recorder is used to for instant audio replaying needs. Operations All primary dispatch and voice communications between the North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre and the various agencies are handled via direct land-mobile radio communications with telephone interconnect as a backup. When a department is actively working an incident, the North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre is connected and available to the agency throughout the incident and all telephone and radio communications are recorded. Staffing The dispatch centre is staffed at all times by a firefighter/dispatcher. When not actively engaged in dispatch activities, firefighter/dispatchers perform typical firefighter station duties (such as training, equipment checks, maintenance, etc.) and are only required to be in the dispatch centre when answering emergency calls and dispatching fire departments. When a call is received for the Fort St. John Fire Department, the firefighter/dispatcher remains in the dispatch centre performing all required support functions and answering and dispatching other emergency calls. The Peace River Regional District funds two full-time-equivalent positions at a 100 percent firstclass firefighter rate to provide fire dispatch service. Training New firefighters receive an 8-week orientation course, approximately 4 weeks of that training is focused on the computer aided dispatch system, records management system, and fire dispatching. They do have course curriculum material; however it was not available for review. Workload The North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre handles 920 calls for service annually (5 year average). 12 P a g e

44 Policies and Procedures The North Peace Fire Dispatch Centre does not have any policies or procedures for dispatching nor do they have a formalized, structured quality assurance program in place. Issues or problems related to incidents are investigated as they arise Industry Standards and Best Practices The industry standard for all fire dispatch centres in North America is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1221: Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. NFPA 1221 provides prescriptive performance requirements for the answering of emergency calls and the total time for the dispatching of emergency calls. These performance metrics are as follows: Call Answer 95 percent of calls are to be answered in 15 seconds or less, and 99 percent of calls are to be answered in 40 seconds or less (NFPA 1221 Section 7.4.1). Dispatching 80 percent of events are to be dispatched in 60 seconds or less, and 95 percent of incidents are to be dispatched in 106 seconds or less (NFPA 1221 Section 7.4.2). NFPA 1221 is an extremely comprehensive standard that covers operational and technical aspects of fire dispatch centre operations. This standard has been adopted by most, if not all, fire dispatch centres in British Columbia. The Peace River Regional District does not address any performance standards for call answer and dispatch with its current fire dispatch service providers. With respect to an industry standard regarding an appropriate fire dispatch service model, NFPA does not provide any direction on this. However, current best practices for fire dispatch involve a comprehensive end-to-end service where the dispatch centre maintains a communication link with responding firefighters throughout the entire incident, providing all agency-required and requested support and resourcing Fire Dispatch Redundancy/Back-up The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1221 requires service providers to have an alternate communications centre, that when staffed, can perform the same functions as the 13 P a g e

45 primary communications centre 1. NFPA 1221 states that alternate communications centres should: Be physically/geographically separated from the primary communications centre Have formalized plans for the maintenance and operations of the alternate centre Have the ability to reroute incoming emergency calls to the alternate communication centre Complete operational independence from the primary communication centre 2.4. Overall Fire Dispatch Analysis and Options with Current Providers The Importance of Dispatching and Emergency Communication Emergency call answer, dispatch, and communications are critical aspects to an effective and functional public safety system. Timely receipt and dispatch of emergency responders to emergency incidents is vital to the preservation of life in emergency medical incidents and in mitigating property loss due to fire spread. In addition, two-way voice communication between emergency responders and a dispatch centre is one of the most important safety tools available to the responders. The significant negative consequences of untimely or improper dispatch and communication have driven the prescriptive performance standards for emergency call answering and dispatch times. Furthermore, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the United States identified that improper communications is one of the top five leading causes of firefighter fatalities 2. As part of the investigations of fire loss, very detailed reviews are conducted involving a thorough incident analysis, commencing with the time the emergency call was received in the dispatch centre, when the fire department was alerted, and the timeline associated with these actions. Stakeholder Consultation Process While onsite in August 2012, a Pomax representative met with representatives of the majority of the Peace River Regional District fire departments, including the fire chiefs of Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, and Trish Morgan, Manager of Community Services for the Peace River Regional District. The purpose of the meeting was to provide the fire departments with an overview of the project as well as to: 1 NFPA 1221 Section and NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, Leading Recommendations for Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities, Department of Health and Human Services, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 14 P a g e

46 Determine their satisfaction with the dispatch services provided Determine their satisfaction with the communication system Gather information on improvements or changes they would like to see in the systems With respect to the fire dispatch services, the majority of the fire departments were pleased with the services being provided by the South and North Peace Fire Dispatch Centres. As a result of the meeting and follow-up with some departments, some concerns were identified: Those departments dispatched by South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre that use telephone interconnects as their primary connection are not able to stay connected throughout the emergency incident. The telephone interconnect automatically disconnects, as a safety feature, after 180 seconds. One department stated that there have been instances where off going shift dispatchers at the South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre have not advised the oncoming shift that their department was on a call. As such, when the department attempted to communicate with the dispatch centre via radio, there was no one in the dispatch centre and the radio call went unanswered forcing the department to have to call them by cell phone (if coverage available). There has been no fire department training on the use of the satellite backup communication systems. The South Peace Fire Dispatch Centre does not have a computer aided dispatch system. The fire departments would like a dedicated telephone number for contacting the dispatch centres. One fire department noted they are not comfortable with a firefighter/dispatcher model. Civic addressing is a problem throughout the region; one of the largest issues is a discrepancy between fire dispatch and British Columbia Ambulance Service addressing information. Comparison to Industry Standards The current fire dispatch model for the Peace River Regional District does not meet the industry standard for the operation of fire dispatch centres in some areas. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1221: Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency 15 P a g e

47 Services Communications Systems is the peer reviewed, industry standard that specifies all aspects of a fire dispatch centre operation. It is a very detailed and prescriptive standard and some of the key areas of the standard are call answer and dispatch performance metrics, quality assurance, and dispatch centre security. As the standard is very detailed and prescriptive, it is generally recognized that many fire dispatch centres do not meet all of the requirements of NFPA 1221, but there are a number of requirements that centres typically strive to meet. Both the North Peace and South Peace Fire Dispatch Centres are generally well equipped centres with respect to fire department alerting and voice communications systems. However, there are some operational practices that need to be addressed in order to increase efficiency, performance, and compliance with NFPA 1221: Adoption of NFPA 1221 performance times Establishment of fully-functional back up dispatch centres Implementation of a monthly quality assurance program In order to address the deficiencies with respect to NFPA 1221, the Peace River Regional District has three options: 1. Maintain the current model of North and South Peace Fire Dispatch Centres with applicable staffing and technology upgrades in each centre 2. Consolidate the North and South Peace Fire Dispatch Centres into one of the existing centres with applicable staffing and technology upgrades 3. Contract fire dispatch services with an alternative service provider that is able to meet the NFPA 1221 requirements (refer to "2.9 Analysis of Existing Contracts" for additional information) With respect to the first two options, in order to increase the service levels and efficiencies of the North and South Peace Fire Dispatch Centres, there are a number of technical and operational issues to be addressed. These are described below. Option 1 Maintain North and South Peace Fire Dispatch Centres Both centres have indicated that they have not adopted the performance standards of NFPA 1221 with respect to emergency call answer and dispatching and that they do not have a quality assurance program. For both centres, one of the primary issues is the ability to quickly and effectively answer the emergency call and complete the dispatch process. Neither centre has dedicated staff in the centre, and emergency calls can be answered from locations other 16 P a g e