The city’s fire dispatchers have officially relocated their permanent home at Fire Hall #1 on Massey Drive.
The new Fire Operations Communications Centre and Dispatch Centre will house up to 14 staff who play a critical role in ensuring rapid, timely responses by Prince George’s Fire and Rescue Service.
In addition to serving the local community, the new centre has a larger function that spans across British Columbia.
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George operates the Emergency Response Service for a large portion of British Columbia to answer initial calls and provide fire dispatch services for numerous regional district partners in Central and Southern B.C.
“I am very excited to welcome the fire dispatchers to their new home,” said Cliff Warner, fire chief at the City of Prince George. “This state-of-the-art building not only services the dedicated members of Prince George Fire Rescue, but also the city’s residents, and our regional partners throughout the province for many years to come.”
Fire dispatchers previously worked at the Old Fire Hall #1 on 7th Avenue and Dominion Street prior to the move.
The new communications centre puts them in the nexus of operations where their contributions help firefighters respond quickly to emergencies.
The communications centre exists alongside a functional and well-designed Emergency Operations Centre, both of which are key support organs in a major crisis or disaster.
Marty Dupas, chief communications officer for Prince George Fire Rescue Services, said the new centre is the gold standard of fire dispatch in the province of B.C.
The facility’s dispatch positions currently serve around 80 agencies. Once the Regional District of Central Kootenay is brought onboard, the new communications centre will dispatch for approximately 100 agencies.
“The facility building alone provides us the capacity to have additional workstations that will allow us to upscale or downscale based on what the situation warrants,” said Dupas.
“The magnitude of this change has been absolutely monumental and we would have not been able to pull this off without the strength and the minds of the teams involved.”
The new facility features modern technology that are Next-Generation 911-compliant and meet industry standards including a new call-handling system, radio console, and call and data recording system.
The CRTC has mandated changes to the 911-system, known as Next-Gen 911, to switch from analog or legacy based systems to IP based systems that allow for additional shareability between agencies.
Dupas said the Fraser Fort George Regional District is now ahead of the curve in the province regarding these changes.
“With an ability to respond to an increased demand for events like the 2017 wildfires, behind the maze of technology required to provide that service, is the understanding that an emergency or fire does not wait and neither should those who need the help of the 80 fire rescue agencies that are dispatched from this building,” said Valemount Mayor Owen Torgerson, who is also the chair of the regional district’s public safety and emergency management standing committee.
“While we hope the phones inside this centre never ring and that our community stays safe from fire it gives me great peace of mind to know that when the phones do ring it’s in a facility like this with dedicated personnel who are ready to answer the call.”
Since 1991, fire dispatch has been a service of the regional district when a partnership was formed between the Regional District, City of Prince George, and Prince George Fire Rescue.
The partnership saw the City of Prince George and PG Fire Rescue provide space and staff for the service, with the funding, infrastructure, and technology provided through the Regional District.
“This started off as a dream for many fire chiefs before me,” said Warner. “I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work on this project – from the strategic planning before our 2017 referendum through to this very day. This move brings the fire hall replacement project full circle.”
