April 27, 1998

 To:Budget Committee

 From:City Clerk

 Subject:Central Computerized Call-Taking/Dispatch System for the Fire Services

 Recommendation:

 The Emergency and Protective Services Committee on April 21, 1998, recommended to the Budget Committee, and Council, the adoption of the report dated April 20, 1998, from the Fire Chief wherein it is recommended that:

 (1)budgetary approval for a consolidated dispatch system for Fire Services, at an estimated cost of $15 million, be provided under transition funding; and

 (2)the Fire Chief present a further report to the Committee on the process to be used to meet requirements in conjunction with the review of the upgrade to the Communications System.

 The Emergency and Protective Services Committee reports having:

 (a)requested the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to report back to the Committee on a corporate strategy for the employment of information technology and telecommunications; and

 (b)referred this matter to the Emergency and Protective Services Committee=s Budget Working Group on Fire\Ambulance Services.

  Background:

 The Emergency and Protective Services had before it a report (April 20, 1998) from the Fire Chief regarding the Central Computerized Call-Taking/Dispatch System for the Fire Services.

   City Clerk

(Report dated April 20, 1998, addressed to the

Emergency and Protective Services Committee and

the Budget Committee from the Fire Chief)

 Purpose:

 Budgetary approval is requested for a consolidated dispatch system as part of transition funding for the Fire Services. The project would include the acquisition, installation, implementation, staff training and ongoing support for a fully-featured centralized computerized Call-Taking/ Dispatch and associated records system.

 This system would fully automate the following activities and functions:

 (1)the taking of telephone calls from the public, either transferred by computer from the 9-1-1 system or dialled direct to the fire services for an emergency response to an incident,

 (2)the display to the Call-taker/Dispatcher of a survey-accurate computerized map of Toronto showing all streets, properties, lot lines, rivers, ravines, rail lines, sewers, hydrants, etc., highlighting on the map the address location from which the telephone call is being made,

 (3)the recommendation of the type and quantity of vehicles to respond and the determination via an automatic vehicle locating system of which vehicles are presently closest to the scene of the incident,

 (4)the automatic dispatching of these vehicles using: (a) computers and printers installed in each station for those vehicles parked in stations at the time of a call, and/or (b) the transmission of call-related information via radio to on-board computers installed in all emergency response vehicles, complete with computer-recommended street routing to the scene of that incident,

 (5)the tracking and recording of all information related to that incident, especially the time taken for vehicles to respond, the time spent on scene, the time when vehicles are available for another call and the time vehicles arrive back at the station,

 (6)the direct transfer of incident-related information via computer to/from the ambulance computer system,

 (7)the management of a personnel database including a duty roster of all staff on duty complete with historical staff training records,

 (8)the completion of a report on the incident at the station by the captain of a vehicle which responded to that incident using an on-line computer networked to fire services headquarters,

 (9)the inspection of premises by Inspectors in the Fire Prevention Division using mobile hand-held computers and the tracking of violations through the court system,

 (10)the complete inventory of stores, clothing, apparatus and equipment for all staff in all divisions,

 (11) the management of equipment and vehicle maintenance,

 (12)the accounting of finance user fees for facilities rentals, nuisance alarms, malicious alarms, equipment rentals, administration fees, fire reports, etc.,

 (13)the management of buildings, properties and their maintenance,

 (14)the provision of an off-premise stand-by backup system so that the emergency Call-Taking and Dispatch functions may continue in the event of the inoperability of the prime site.

 Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

 Funding has been requested as part of the proposed transition funding.

 Preliminary estimates for the costs of the specified system are as follows:

 Description:Estimated Funding:

 Call-Taking/Dispatch Stations$400,000

 Communications Equipment$200,000

 Computer systems at all stations, divisions, offices$1,600,000

 Software$2,300,000

 Other computer and hardware costs (printers and stands, battery$1,200,000

backup units, personal computer workstations, electrical modifications, etc.

 Project Management/Staff Training $1,400,000

 File Conversion and Creation$750,000

 Ruggedized Mobile Computing Equipment$2,000,000

 Automatic Vehicle Locating systems$600,000

 Fire Prevention=s Pen-based Hand-held Computers$1,200,000

 Weather Monitoring, Wall Projection and Voice Synthesization Systems$450,000

 Taxes and Contingencies$2,900,000

Total Estimated Project Cost$15,000,000

 Recommendations:

 It is recommended that:

 (1)budgetary approval be provided under Transition funding; and

(2)the Fire Chief present a further report to Committee on the process to be used to meet requirements in conjunction with the review of the upgrade to the Communications Systems.

Council Reference/Background/History:

 The merger of the six former Fire Departments into one Fire Services resulted in six different systems for taking calls from the public for emergency services, dispatching vehicles, record keeping and the presentation of statistics. Three of these six systems were partially computerized while the other three were not. None of the present computer systems are in a position of being expanded and re-sized to fulfil the requirements of the Fire Services which requires an advanced and proven centralized Call-Taking and Dispatch system.

 The inclusion of a computerized map in the system specifications allows the Call-Taker/Dispatcher to immediately note the location and municipal address of an incoming telephone call, the street network that makes up the immediate area, the threat to neighbouring properties if a fire call, the recommended routing for responding vehicles, etc.

 The project would include desk-top computers and printers in all stations, divisions and headquarters. In addition, on-board ruggedized computers would be specified for all of the emergency response vehicles including permanently-mounted notebook computers for the District Chiefs, the Platoon Chiefs and the Command Vehicle.

 Inspectors in the Fire Prevention Division would be able to conduct premise inspections using mobile pen-based computers complete with premise inspection history and all Fire Code requirements. Applicable staff in the Administration, Fire Prevention, Training, Communications, Mechanical and Fire Suppression divisions would have on-line access to department-wide information relating to incidents, premise inspections and violations, apparatus, equipment, vehicles, manpower, staff training records, and shift rostering.

 The requirements of the Fire Services also include a wide-area telecommunications network to allow data to be transmitted to/from all stations, divisions and headquarters. This need is being addressed corporately through the Corporate and Human Resources division.

 The Fire Services is presently taking calls from the public for emergency responses and dispatching apparatus and manpower using six different systems. Some of these systems were installed 15 years ago. None of these systems were designed to integrate or interface with the others. Of particular concern is the problems associated with consistently identifying the required resources, ensuring that they are the nearest resources, and dispatching those resources in a timely manner. This is especially true for those three previous fire departments where computers systems were not used to expedite the call taking and dispatch process. Once an incident is over, we have six different systems of capturing incident-related statistics and reporting.

 A centralized advanced proven emergency Call-Taking/Dispatch system is required with standardized record keeping procedures for deployment across all divisions and offices of the fire services. The impact of not approving this request means that the present six disparate, and in some cases antiquated systems must continue to operate thus forgoing opportunities of improving service to the public by standardizing and expediting the call-taking and dispatch process.

 Contact Names:

 Tom Powell: 397-4306

Norm Gibbons: 397-4315