Blog note: this article references a 2001 grand jury report.
Santa
Barbara hopes to save up to two minutes in response time by combining emergency
dispatch services with the county to create one large regional center.
Councilman
Eric Friedman cited a quote from the movie classic "Cool Hand Luke"
in explaining the problem.
“What
we have here is a failure to communicate and the last thing we want on a 911
call is a failure to communicate," Friedman said. "When you are
talking one to two minutes in an emergency, you can’t really put a price on
that."
The
City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to work with Santa Barbara County and explore
the possibility of a regional center.
The
goal is to create a system where the nearest public safety personnel
respond to a situation regardless of where the call was placed.
From
2009 to 2019, the volume of emergency calls to the combined City Fire and SBPD
Communications Center increased by 52 percent. During this period, the
city's dispatch staff has decreased from 19 full-time equivalent employees
to 18.
The
problem dates back several decades. The Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury
recommended a regional fire and emergency medical services center in 2001.
Santa Barbara city Fire Chief Eric Nickel said that several counties, including
San Diego, Ventura and Orange County, have joint fire dispatch centers.
Nickel
said the new system would eliminate redundant dispatching and multiple call
transfer. Under the current system, the average call includes about three
call transfers.
The
project could be funded partially by Measure C dollars, but wouldn't go into
effect until fiscal year 2022 or 2023.
Councilwoman
Alejandra Gutierrez said the fast flow of communication during an emergency is
essential.
"Having
something like this in place would not only save lives, but the community would
really appreciate it, because the calls won’t be going to three different
places," Gutierrez said.
January 28, 2020
Noozhawk Santa Barbara
By Joshua Molina
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