"I am responding" radio systems - what do you do?

[x129K 1,393]

The more I think about this system, I suppose it would be great for specialized teams (Hazmat, Collapse, Trench, etc.) but for day-to-day operations, I think it's more of a senseless expense than anything else. If your area still works on a call-in system for EMS, which I'm pretty sure we're all out of the dark ages, I guess this could be an upgrade and could eliminate headaches in the dispatch center.

In Poughkeepsie, it is one of several methods of calling back off duty members for a greater alarm of fire. Fist is the transmittal of a second alarm, with off duty members having pagers.

It is a GREAT system though.

[Guest]

In Poughkeepsie, it is one of several methods of calling back off duty members for a greater alarm of fire. Fist is the transmittal of a second alarm, with off duty members having pagers.

It is a GREAT system though.

Thats to recall memebers, I believe and someone can correct me that this is for the call where people call the dispatch center to tell them they are responding similiar to New Milford Ct when they give names over the radio that so and so is responding to quarters

[NWFDMedic 58]

In Poughkeepsie, it is one of several methods of calling back off duty members for a greater alarm of fire. Fist is the transmittal of a second alarm, with off duty members having pagers.

It is a GREAT system though.

I could see it working out well for a career staff callback as well. As far as using it for a first response system, not so much.

[x129K 1,393]

Thats to recall memebers, I believe and someone can correct me that this is for the call where people call the dispatch center to tell them they are responding similiar to New Milford Ct when they give names over the radio that so and so is responding to quarters

Same thing....we can recall specific groups, Officers, Investigators, Chiefs, Dispatchers, or the whole department..

[xfirefighter484x 234]

I may be mistaken, but I was under the impression that DC911 has a terminal with the "IAMRESPONDING" system up, and can view who is responding in, should someone call in, and can have an idea if a chief, captain, or lt is on the way to a scene, or to a firehouse.

[EFFD4091-MLSS emt 13]

Dont know if its up and running yet Nate, but I do know they are workin on it. I believe there are 5 districts in Dutchess that use this system Well 4 and BVAC... EFFD, AFD, FFD, and I think PVFD (but I am not sure bout them...)

[TAPSJ 30]

Just saw it is offering a two month free trial. Also, thier are pluses of being able to email or text messages about things going on. Equipment, members, weather condisions. It also cuts down on County dispatching three or four messages to a department.

Thomas

[DCJPells 29]

Just saw it is offering a two month free trial. Also, thier are pluses of being able to email or text messages about things going on. Equipment, members, weather condisions. It also cuts down on County dispatching three or four messages to a department.

Thomas

This is actually the best part as far as I have experienced.

Information

Cancellations

Call backs

Announcements

Can also be done on scene using a laptop or web phone.

I know they are working on enhancments that will cover some of the "problems" discussed here. This will help what is considered the products primary use as listed.

[antiquefirelt 994]

Here's how we view the best case use of this system in my area:

Currently all departments in the county (21 fire,11 EMS) are dispatched on the same frequency. The volunteer outfit's personnel sign on enroute to the station or scene and all apparatus, FT or Vol., reports to dispatch on the same channel. To alleviate the overuse of the system, IAMRESPONDING can be utilized, so that only chief officers need to sign on the radio and the rest of the personnel can use their phones, home,work or cell. The dispatcher can then wait an alloted time (2 minutes) and give the chief a report of numbers of personnel signed in, subsequent updates can be added or requested. This eliminates tons of BS radio traffic, especially when a mutual aid fire is ongoing and units from multiple depts are responding, literally clogging the radio with BS traffic. 'Cause everyone knows if youse has a radio youse impotent and must report your status! This is an easier way to correct the real issue than making VFD's enforce radio discipline in my area!

Edited January 30, 2009 by antiquefirelt

[smwells 7]

As of 00:00 02/05/09, Putnam Valley VAC is using this system for responding to calls.. we are no longer calling Putnam 911 to find out "what is needed" or "Who is coming to where?"

Time will tell if this new system, helps or hinders the response of the department.

We currently cover over 90% of our calls (I don't have exact number, but it is rare that we need mutual aid for 1st call in district).

Like anything new there will always be pushback: some members are technology challenged, some don't have cellphones, some don't own computers (or want them).

So far from what I have seen, most of the department is onboard and has no issue.

Note: Statments are my own and are not made on behalf of Putnam Valley VAC

[TSull 33]

I know in putnam that the fire investigation team uses it the hazmat team uses it and brewster and mahopac were doing a trial before they let the rest of the county use it.

I know that Brewster has not started to use this system yet. I am very interested to see how it works.. I have heard positive things about it from members of Mahopac and the Falls. The question about calling in while driving: stop the car if you have to. The excuse that you hit someone or had an accident because you were distracted pushing phone buttons is not going to fly in court. Be smart, stop the car if you have to.

[Guest]

I know that Brewster has not started to use this system yet. I am very interested to see how it works.. I have heard positive things about it from members of Mahopac and the Falls. The question about calling in while driving: stop the car if you have to. The excuse that you hit someone or had an accident because you were distracted pushing phone buttons is not going to fly in court. Be smart, stop the car if you have to.

Speaking of this, does the hands free cellphone rule in NY provide exemption to firefighters while performing official emergency duties, such as responding and calling into this system?

[snkbitn 2]

Speaking of this, does the hands free cellphone rule in NY provide exemption to firefighters while performing official emergency duties, such as responding and calling into this system?

The system is set up as a default, you hit a speed dial programmed in your phone, once you hear the voice message you can just hang up. no buttons no destractions. Now there are options for 1-9 but even pressing one button and hanging up is not going to cause an issue.

[TAPSJ 30]

Plus it is best to call before you walk out your door or as your running. Other then that have it on a speeddial or it you recent calls so it is easy to get too. The call is less then 6 seconds long. If you dont hit any button it goes to whatever the default was. For my department it is saying that I am going straight to the scene. I hope this helps.

Thomas

[Guest]

We are going start using it, Everyone in Broome will using it, Will have a number for each station, so if wanna go to station 1 then i would call that number

I think its going work well for us

[helicopper 1,050]

Speaking of this, does the hands free cellphone rule in NY provide exemption to firefighters while performing official emergency duties, such as responding and calling into this system?

It does to a limited extent (only for emergencies or official duties).

§ 1225-c. Use of mobile telephones. 1. For purposes of this section,

the following terms shall mean:

(a) "Mobile telephone" shall mean the device used by subscribers and

other users of wireless telephone service to access such service.

(.B.) "Wireless telephone service" shall mean two-way real time voice

telecommunications service that is interconnected to a public switched

telephone network and is provided by a commercial mobile radio service,

as such term is defined by 47 C.F.R. § 20.3.

(.C) "Using" shall mean holding a mobile telephone to, or in the

immediate proximity of, the user's ear.

(d) "Hand-held mobile telephone" shall mean a mobile telephone with

which a user engages in a call using at least one hand.

(e) "Hands-free mobile telephone" shall mean a mobile telephone that

has an internal feature or function, or that is equipped with an

attachment or addition, whether or not permanently part of such mobile

telephone, by which a user engages in a call without the use of either

hand, whether or not the use of either hand is necessary to activate,

deactivate or initiate a function of such telephone.

(f) "Engage in a call" shall mean talking into or listening on a

hand-held mobile telephone, but shall not include holding a mobile

telephone to activate, deactivate or initiate a function of such

telephone.

(g) "Immediate proximity" shall mean that distance as permits the

operator of a mobile telephone to hear telecommunications transmitted

over such mobile telephone, but shall not require physical contact with

such operator's ear.

2. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall

operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway while using a mobile

telephone to engage in a call while such vehicle is in motion.

(.B.) An operator of a motor vehicle who holds a mobile telephone to, or

in the immediate proximity of his or her ear while such vehicle is in

motion is presumed to be engaging in a call within the meaning of this

section. The presumption established by this subdivision is rebuttable

by evidence tending to show that the operator was not engaged in a call.

(.C) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as

authorizing the seizure or forfeiture of a mobile telephone, unless

otherwise provided by law.

3. [.b.]Subdivision two of this section shall not apply to (a) the use of a

mobile telephone for the sole purpose of communicating with any of the

following regarding an emergency situation: an emergency response

operator; a hospital, physician's office or health clinic; an ambulance

company or corps; a fire department, district or company; or a police

department, (.B.) any of the following persons while in the performance of

their official duties: a police officer or peace officer; a member of a

fire department, district or company; or the operator of an authorized

emergency vehicle as defined in section one hundred one of this chapter,

or (.C) the use of a hands-free mobile telephone.

4. A violation of subdivision two of this section shall be a traffic

infraction and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one

hundred dollars.

emphasis added

[38ff 250]

Does anyone have an dept SOP on using the system?? I need to write one, I'd like to NOT reinvent the wheel if it's already out there..

Edited July 6, 2009 by 38ff

[Guest dseidberg]

Does anyone have an dept SOP on using the system?? I need to write one, I'd like to NOT reinvent the wheel if it's already out there..

I am one of the owners of IamResponding.com. Thank you for your interest in this system. If you would like assistance with an SOP, please feel free to contact us directly, and we can assist with that. Most departments enact only a very simple one that basically says (1) Call the system if you are coming; and (2) if you call the system to say that you are coming, make sure you show up. Nonetheless, we are happy to assist with whatever you need.

I'll also take moment to clarify a couple of things in this thread:

1. Phone call length: 98% of the calls consist of nothing more than pressing a single speed-dial button and then dropping your phone. The system automatically hangs up on you after 10 seconds (thus, no one needs to be on the phone while driving - we don't want that either!).

2. Every member can customize their profile so that the system displays where they typically respond to as their destination (e.g. a member who always responds to Station 2 can set it so that "Station 2" always appears as their destination, without that member having to ever press any other buttons). Members only have to press a second button when they are responding to a location other than their normal destination (e.g. a Station 1 responder who is going directly to the scene instead).

3. If a member inadvertently calls into the system, they can call back in and press a button that replaces their call information on the screen with "cancelled." This is also used by anyone who calls to report that they are responding, and who then has car trouble or has something else come up that precludes them from responding.

4. There are NO charges for outbound messages sent through the mass messaging system (these can be sent via email, text message and/or alpha numberic pagers).

5. Phone call costs. Each member calls a toll free number when they call into the system, so that they do not get billed. We get billed, and we pass that cost back onto the department (not to the member). Each call is 2.8 cents, so departments are billed just $28 for every 1,000 calls. These costs are capped at a maximum of $300 per department, per year, but most departments never come close to that number. For example, if a department responds to 400 dispatches per year, and has a typical response of 8 members per event, they will have a maximum of 3,200 calls, and an annual phone bill of $90.

6. Smaller departments that respond to fewer than 100 events per year pay only $300/year in subscription fees, as do specialty teams that are also below 100 events/year.

Please feel free to contact us directly at 315-701-1372 with any questions.

Thank you,

Dan Seidberg

DSeidberg@emergencysmc.com

[CLM92982 26]

For those departments that have been using this system for the past year, how has it been working for you? Have there been any problems with getting members to use it on a regular basis? I recently noticed that this system can be integrated with dispatch centers so that operators can see if any members of a dispatched department are en route to their station to get a rig out the door. The website offers hypotheticals, coincidentally matching 60 Control's protocols for unstaffed fire agencies, that seem pretty feasible if departments were willing to get on board.

Consider a hypothetical dispatch of a fire department in a region with a protocol that calls for second activations to be issued at the 5 minute mark, and for mutual aid to be activated at the 10 minute mark. The primary reason for such protocols is that dispatchers have never before had a reliable method of knowing which, or how many, members of a dispatched department would respond to a dispatch at any given time.

Without IamResponding.com, if the dispatched fire department does not have a full crew respond to the station or scene in response to the initial dispatch, a second activation will not be issued until the 5 minute mark. This is because the department and dispatcher will wait the full 5 minutes to see if anyone else is on the way.

With IamResponding.com, both the department and dispatcher will know within 30 seconds whether a full crew is on the way to either the station or scene. If a full crew is not displayed on the monitor within 30 seconds, then a full crew is not en route, and the department and dispatchers will know that a second activation will be needed.

With IamResponding.com, the second activation can now be issued between 30-60 seconds after the initial dispatch, saving 4 - 4 1/2 minutes on every dispatch requiring a second activation.

With IamResponding.com, if the second activation still does not result in a full crew responding, that information will be known by the 2 minute point, at the very latest. In this circumstance, mutual aid will be able to be activated within 2-3 minutes of the intitial dispatch, rather than waiting to the 10 minute mark. This would reduce the response time by 7-8 minutes on every mutual aid call.

IamResponding.com - DISPATCHER FUNCTIONS -- REDUCE THE RESPONSE TIME TO YOUR DISPATCHES!

IamResponding.com

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Sorry, couldn't help it. Hopefully you do get the answers you are seeking though!!