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PUBLISHED:
Monday August 06 UPDATED Friday
August 10 |
FireNews.net Special Report
Part 1
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Rowan County Re-Numbers Apparatus; Other
Departments Around the State Should Too
Busiest Counties Without Comprehensive Resource
Management
SALISBURY -
Rowan County 911 began utilizing a new Computer Aided
Dispatch System on June 26th. The center processes over 500
calls for service daily. Due to particulars related to the
software, some departments were required to re-number their
apparatus. Rowan County has developed a document (pdf) that
describes the
new configurations.
In December of 2005,
Durham County 911 upgraded their 1988
CAD system. In doing so, they went through a process to
finally number all fire apparatus. Before, the five
departments in the county simply referred to their apparatus
as "Parkwood 1", "Lebanon 2" or "Redwood 3". There was no
commonality or consideration of standards.
Now each apparatus has a three digit number that relates to
the department, station and type of apparatus. Bahama was
given the 300 series, Bethesda 400, Lebanon 500, Parkwood 600
and Redwood 700. Departments now also use common identifiers
such as "Engine" or "Ladder" whereas before they did not.
In Guilford County, city and county fire service leaders went
through a two-year long process to re-number stations and
apparatus. On March 20th, the new Guilford Metro 911 Center
went live. Six firehouses in the city were re-numbered; six
were also re-numbered in the county.
The coordination was not without detractors. High Point,
Climax and Guil-Rand chose not to participate and are not part
of the Guilford plan. Climax and Guil-Rand are now handled by
Randolph County unless the emergency is actually located in
Guilford County. High Point maintains their own Fire Dispatch
Center.
See
Correction to
Part 1
In metropolitan Washington, D.C., municipal and county
departments have agreed upon a regional approach to numbering
that even crosses state lines. Prince William, Arlington and
Fairfax counties in Virginia along with Montgomery and Prince
Georges counties in Maryland have adopted the plan.
The Ugly Twenty
In reviewing our records, twenty counties*
in North Carolina (out of 100) do not appear to have any
numbering system for stations or apparatus. While most of
these are relatively small, rural counties, three exceptions
are particularly worrisome.
The urbanized counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte) and
Wake (Raleigh), along with rapidly developing
Johnston County to Raleigh's east continue to operate
without comprehensive numbering plans.
Individual departments number their rigs without regard to any
countywide system. In Wake County alone, there are a dozen
units with the designation "Engine 1."**
In an era where buzz-words like "interoperability" and
"automatic aid" are used so often, one has to wonder why such
a simple process like coming up with a numbering system is so
difficult. Aside from some new vinyl numbers, it's relatively
inexpensive, so failure to act can't be blamed on budgets.
Notes
NC Counties Without Numbering Systems:
*
Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Bertie, Caldwell, Clay,
Cleveland, Hyde, Iredell, Johnston, Martin, Mecklenburg,
Pamlico, Richmond, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Washington and Wilkes
"Engine 1" units in
Wake County:
**
Apex, Cary, Durham Highway, Eastern Wake, Fairview,
Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Wake New
Hope, Raleigh and Swift Creek.
"Ladder 1" units in Wake County:
Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs and Raleigh
Discuss this Article in the
FireNews.net Forums (Forum Categories/Communications). See
"The Ugly Twenty"
UPDATED INFO:
We have been advised that
Wilkes County does operate with a numbering scheme. Thanks to
Assistant Chief Andy Chatman with the Pleasant Hill Volunteer
Fire Department for writing in and letting us know.
We can now change "The Ugly Twenty" to "The Unattractive
Nineteen."
We have at least two more articles that we intend to publish
on this subject. We hope to report on how other departments
have recently implemented a numbering scheme, and we'll
present a few ideas for the Capital County. Stay tuned.
Part 2
now available. |
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- FireNews.net Staff
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