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~, ~ Orange County Fire-Rescue Study Oversight Committee Preliminary Recommendations June 7, 2006 Page 3 of 5 Emergency Communications There are three primary recommendations in this azea, each having fmancial implications. First, the implementation of the 800MHz. system appears to be seriously under-funded. Many of the fire departments and the rescue squads do not have sufficient reserves to acquire the needed radios for the conversion. Also, the County has not set aside funds to acquire the radios that will be required to make the system work. Our fmal recommendations provide a listing of the radios needed by each of the organizational units for proper implementation. However, we believe the County should adopt a$.Ol rate for a period of two years specifically allocated to the implementation of the 800MHz. system. This should generate an additional $1,000,000 each of the two years allowing Emergency Management to supply the County volunteer departments the necessary radios for successful implementation. At the end of the two years this $.Ol would be eliminated. There is no point in arguing over whether the departrnents that did not put sufficient reserves away should have or were not financially able to do so. Emergency services delivery requires a comprehensive communications system through which all the providers can communicate. The reality is that the system will be an abysmal failure if there are components of the system (i.e., emergency service providers) that are unable to communicate over the system. Second, the communications center will need additional communicators/dispatchers as the 800 MHz. system is implemented. The use of computer truncated ta.ctical channels and "talk groups" necessitates that channels being used by significant incidents (working fires, mass casualty EMS calls, and natural disasters) are monitored and are part of the incident management process. While the EOC will ultimately be activated for some of these incidents, even in those cases tele- communicators are required to provide logistical and communication support to the incident as well as handle other "normal" emergency traffic. As the 800 MHz. system is implemented, we believe that in the first year 2 additional communications specialists are required and another 2 in the second year. We estimate the cost of this to be approximately $100,000 this year and another $100,000 additional ne~ct yeaz. Third, while the Emergency Communications Center is technologically sound, some of the procedures relating to support of the fire department are comparable to those used in the 1960s. The card /notebook system for response protocols is antiquated and should be replaced. Protocols should be an integrated part of the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. We do not yet have an estimate of the cost of this project. Departments have limped along using this process for many years now and the project could begin with existing resources as available and be completed with additional project funds, possibly funded by a grant, in the second year of our planning horizon.