Response Delays Increasing

From the Editor: As someone who reviews over 100 news stories almost every day of the week, I have to alert you to an increasing trend–response delays. For a wide variety of reasons, fire, law enforcement and EMS units are not arriving at the scene expeditiously. Instead, they are arriving 30 minutes after the first 911 call, 20 minutes after officers arrive, etc. The incidents are occurring everywhere, from Vermont, to Florida, to Texas and the west coast. Sometimes it’s a straight goof by the dispatcher, sometimes it’s a miscommunication. Some delays are attributable to strange dispatching procedures that require multiple call transfers and coordination among several jurisdictions and agencies. One case involves a busy fax line at a cellular carrier. Whatever the reason, these incidents have already generated local press and concern from politicians. And they are now beginning to bring the notice of national media wondering–what’s happening here? That’s a question that every dispatcher and comm center manager should ask first–now–and then quickly find the answer.