2008 Fire Master Plan - City of St. Catharines

FIRERESCUE3. A verbal dispatch is transmitted over the appropriate radio frequency.4. Other support agencies are notified where applicable (EMS, Police, Hydro, Gas,FMO, Public Works, Coast Guard, Spills Action/MOE, Seaway Authority etc.)5. Equipment response and arrivals are logged in the CAD system.6. Ongoing communication with attending personnel and support agencies occursas required by the nature of the incident.7. Applicable benchmarks and relevant information using the Incident Command systemare noted and automatically time stamped on the incident file in the CAD system.8. Logging of all equipment clearing the incident and closing of the incident file once alldata have been confirmed.Throughout the sequence of processing an incident, operators remain apprised of the actions with respect to theactivities and active incidents within the communications centre. It is normal practice to have 1 operator follow a callfrom receipt to its conclusion. However, activity levels within the Centre and the scale of the incident may requireinvolvement of all operators at some point.St. Catharines Fire Service Communications Centre provides emergency dispatch service to 12 municipal FireDepartments; Fort Erie, Grimsby, Haldimand County, Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pelham, Port Colborne, St.Catharines, Thorold, Wainfleet, Welland and West Lincoln.A significant risk that exists for the Communication Center is its inability to have a backup site in the event the main communication center needs to be evacuated or there is amajor equipment failure.If this were to occur the only way to dispatch outside fire departments would be by contactingthe fire chief by cell phone where he would then page out his people. This would not only causeextended delays but there is also no logging or tracking of the call. A back-up plan needs to beformulated in order to have the ability to dispatch from an alternate site.The Communications Centre generally transmits on 9 different radio frequenciesbut a review of the frequencies being used will increase its numbers in thevery near future:FrequencyMunicipality154.400 Ft. Erie & Dunnville155.910 Grimsby, Lincoln & West Lincoln151.235 Haldimand North & South150.775 Niagara-on-the-Lake153.800 Pelham, Thorold, Welland & Wainfleet164.715 Port Colborne155.445 St. Catharines165.405 St. Catharines154.070 Ontario Fire Marshal32ST. CATHARINES, FIRE SERVICES