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Flashcards in Communications overview Deck (33)
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1
Q

Commo history

A

a. 911 established in Tucson in 1976
b. Communications Section operated by the general services division
c. Tucson Fire given Communication responsibility on 8/17/11

2
Q

Commo organization

A

a. Fire Chief Jim Critchley
b. Assistant Chief Laura Baker
c. Deputy Chief Chris Conger (NEW)
d. Captain Fred Blair
e. Captain Bruce Noble
f. Superintendent Geoff Kuhn

3
Q

PSAP

A

a. Primary PSAP receives the initial call to 911
b. Secondary PSAP receives the transferred call from the primary PSAP
c. TFD manages both the primary and secondary PSAP

4
Q

Primary PSAP

A

i. Determines the problem -> law enforcement, medical, fire
ii. Determines jurisdiction
iii. Transfer call to the appropriate jurisdiction
iv. Average call processing time is 3-4 second
v. Primary PSAP stats
1. Staffing: 4
2. Training: 1 week classroom and then 4-5 weeks on the floor with a trainer
3. Phone lines (trunks) 23
4. 606,400 calls (9/2014-9/2015
5. 112,700 wired and 493,700 wireless

5
Q

Secondary PSAP

A

e. Secondary PSAP: Fire/Medical
i. Provides service for 8 fire departments and fire districts
1. Tucson FD
2. NW FD
3. Golder Ranch FD
4. Avra Valley FD
5. Three Points FD
6. Picture Rocks FD
7. Mountain Vista Fire District
8. SAFERC district
9. Mt. Lemmon FD
10. South Tucson FD

6
Q

Secondary PSAP staffing

A
  1. One supervisor
  2. Two call takers
  3. Four City dispatchers
  4. Two County dispatchers
  5. Two MEDS dispatchers (heli/hospital coordinator)
  6. Two Communications captains
7
Q

Secondary PSAP training

A
  1. 4 weeks classroom
  2. 5-6 weeks on the floor with a trainer to qualify for the position
  3. 6 positions
8
Q

Secondary PSAP positions

A
  1. Supervisor: oversees and is responsible for all the activity on the dispatch floor
  2. Call taker: receives the call from 911 and questions using MPDS (Clawson) or “Fire Questions and Responses”
  3. A2 Dispatch – all TFD calls
  4. A4 Fire – Primary fire operations
  5. B4 EMS North – EMS north of Broadway (things on Broadway count as B4?)
  6. B5 EMS South – EMS south of Broadway
  7. C1 County fire and EMS ops
  8. C2 County Dispatch
  9. M1: MEDS phone traffic, helicopters
  10. M2: MEDS radio traffic, helicopters
9
Q

What do communications captains do?

A

a. Supervisor level, 40hrs week
b. Liaison: Comm/field, TPD, Northwest consortium
c. Manuals, accreditations, protocols and procedures
d. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
e. Floor presence

10
Q

Secondary PSAP call load

A
  1. 113,208 dispatches for 2014
  2. 82,458 Tucson Fire
  3. 30,750 County Fire dispatches
11
Q

911 system in Tucson

A

a. Basic 911 upgraded to E-911 in 1984
b. E-911 provides callback number, address, name of person who owns the phone and PD jurisdiction
c. Recently upgraded to include identifying cell phone calls
d. The next evolution will be location cell phone callers

12
Q

What is ANI/ALI?

A

i. Automatic Number Identifier/Automatic Location Identifier
ii. ANI/ALI info comes from a large main frame computer database in Denver
iii. Call goes from caller to Comm and simultaneously to Denver and back.
iv. With fiber optic technology, this happens almost immediately, or several seconds
v. ANI/ALI info is retrieved as soon as caller dials 911
vi. Allow the information to get to 911 in the event of a disconnect (before 911 picks up), accidental hang up, or open line.

13
Q

What does ANI give you?

A
  1. Automatic Number Identifier
  2. Phone number
  3. Type of phone (cell, home, business)
  4. Phone company
  5. Name of person registered as phone owner
14
Q

What does ALI give you?

A
  1. Automatic Location Identifier
  2. Address the fall came from
  3. Fire and Law Enforcement jurisdiction
15
Q

What is MPDS

A

Medical Priority Dispatch System

a. Uses the Clawson System
b. Systematic question of medical calls
c. Responses are based on determinate codes
i. Determinate code: protocol # +response level, i.e. 26B = sick person/BLS Code 3 response
d. Operations determines what resources to respond
e. Cannot deviate from questions. Limits discretion.

16
Q

What are some examples of MPDS

A
#1 Abdominal pain
#10 Chest Pain
#17 Falls
#32 Ukn (Man Down)
#33 Transfer/interfaculty/palliative care
17
Q

General categories of response from Clawson

A

i. Alpha
ii. Bravo
iii. Charlie
iv. Delta
v. Echo

18
Q

TFD EMS response model

A

i. BLS1 – one unit, 2-4 person crew, BLS code 2
ii. BLS2 – one unit, 2-4 person crew, BLS code 3
iii. ALS1 – one unit, 2-4 person crew, non-transport capable code 3
iv. ALS2 – two units, PM + 2-4 person crew, code 3
v. ALS3 – two units, PM + 4 person crew, code 3

19
Q

Clawson and TFD models combined

A

i. Alpha – BLS1
ii. Bravo – BLS1 or 2 (some specialties)
iii. Charlie – ALS1, PAU or RE
iv. Delta – ALS2 or 3 depending on severity
v. Echo – ALS3

20
Q

What are some of the first questions asked on the call?

A
  1. Address/phone number
  2. What happened? (Underwater/on fire/hanging = Send immediately)
  3. Breathing? (Agonal or no breath = Send immediately)
  4. Age?
  5. Awake (LOC)
21
Q

What are some key questions that are asked on a call?

A
  1. Is he alert?
  2. Is he breathing normally?
  3. How far did he fall?
  4. Does he have a history of angina?
22
Q

What are some Post Dispatch Instructions?

A

given prior to hanging up the phone

  1. Do not move the patient.
  2. Nothing to eat or drink.
  3. Lock up the dog.
  4. Gather medications for the responder.
23
Q

What are some examples of pre-arrival instructions?

A
  1. CPR
  2. Childbirth
  3. Choking/obstructed airway
24
Q

How are the calls coded?

A

k. Codes that things are dispatched as
i. Chief complaint # - level – specific symptom
ii. 10D4
1. 10 = chest pain
2. D = Delta level
3. 4 = clammy

25
Q

TPD response levels

A

a. Priority Level 1 Hold off: TPD en route ASAP. TFD will send.
b. Priority Level 2 Hold off: TPD will dispatch, TFD will send only when there is an officer en route or on scene (because TPD could be 20 minutes away.)((Also, when holding off, park a block or two out of sight.))
c. TFD will send immediately to a Priority 2 if there is no reason to hold off.
d. TPD will upgrade all priority levels to Priority 2 if TFD is responding.

26
Q

What’s a Code 18?

A

a. A potentially hazardous situation
b. TPD Priority 2 response
c. Notifications to the appropriate
i. Assistant chief
ii. Deputy chief
iii. Battalion chief

27
Q

Whats a Code 99?

A

a. An immediately life threatening situation
b. Cannot be canceled once initiated
c. TPD Priority 1 response. They treat it like their own 10-99.
d. TFD response: 1 BC + closest suppression unit (notification without tones, response on alternate frequency)
e. Assistant chief notification

28
Q

Whats a MAYDAY?

A

a. Report of missing or down firefighter
b. Fire alarm will initiate the MAYDAY response
i. BC + 3 closest suppression + 2 PM units
c. Initiate “Emergency Radio Traffic Only”
d. Move fire ops to alternate frequency
e. Replace RIC
f. Request PAR

29
Q

What’s a Code Red?

A

a. Immediately dangerous situation during fire ops
b. “RETREAT”
c. Transmit Code Red announcement over working frequency
d. 6 second emergency alert tone (HI-LO)
i. “Code Red ____ Command”
ii. Initiate “Emergency Radio Traffic Only” procedures
e. Personnel actions
i. Engineers will sound air horns continuously for 10 seconds and may surge hand lines for 3 short bursts
ii. All personnel will IMMEDIATELY vacate the building and report to the nearest division or group officer
iii. Incident commander will initiate a personnel accountability report (PAR) of all units at the incident

30
Q

Who do we notify on a working 1st alarm fire?

A

i. Working incident page
ii. Fire Cause investigator
iii. Tucson Water
iv. Southwest Gas
v. TEP
vi. Building safety (by request)
vii. Tucson Police (by request)

31
Q

Who else do we notify when it progresses to 2nd alarm?

A

i. Fire Chief
ii. Operations Asst. Chief
iii. Tucson Water (advise of upgrade)
iv. Building safety is dispatched
v. Communications superintendent
vi. Communications captain

32
Q

Who else do we notify when it progresses to a 3rd alarm?

A

All of 2nd + city manager

33
Q

Whats a MEDS relay?

A

a. TFD unit
b. Patient age and gender
c. Initial impression
i. Injury – mechanism, spinal immobilization, etc.
ii. Illness – symptoms, onset time, etc.
d. Alerts: STEMI, sepsis, infection control, bariatric, security, etc.
e. Transport unit/ ETC