Deputy Fire Chief Paul Calleja was before Huntsville’s General Committee on October 25 recommending that the municipality enter into another five-year agreement with the City of Barrie for dispatch services here.
Calleja told councillors that this year the dispatcher will handle anywhere from 900 to 1,000 calls.
Prompted by Huntsville Deputy Mayor Dan Armour about the reason the Huntsville/Lake of Bays doesn’t use the dispatcher service in Muskoka that looks after other fire departments, Calleja said there are two reasons. “We did look at the dispatch centre in Muskoka, Muskoka EMS when we were in need of upgrading our dispatch back in 2014. At the time, they were at capacity as well,” said Calleja. “Second, they are predominantly a dispatcher for EMS not for fire necessarily and because of that, we really wanted to move more towards a dispatching centre that was fire specific and that’s what were able to obtain with Barrie.”
According to Calleja’s report, the cost will be as follows:
Calleja’s report also added that “Fire dispatch services have become a critical component to the delivery of services performed by the Huntsville Fire Department. The purpose for dispatching for a fire service consists of:
- The proper transfer of information to facilitate an efficient delivery of services
- Assist with the safety of fire personnel
- Provide communications link with other organizations during a fire emergency.”
The committee voted in favour of a new five-year agreement.
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