Town and Country Police Losing Dispatching Partner

Seven months into operation, the , which handles radio dispatching services for the  Frontenac Police Department and Frontenac Fire Department, is losing one of its partners.

Effective Nov. 1, the Frontenac Fire Department will work through Central County Fire Alarm, which handles dispatch for fire and ambulance agencies around West St. Louis County, inlcuding West County EMS and Fire Protection District.

Frontenac Fire Chief Jack Trout said when his agency joined the WCDC, the hope was that other fire agencies would join, but talks with other departments, including Glendale and Ladue, did not lead to membership.

Trout said the change will mean smoother service for the remaining agencies in the WCDC (all police), and will save his department time and money. WCDC General Manager Robert Heimberger said the time from the receipt of a call to actually dispatching resources is currently at 35 seconds, regardless of whether it is a police or fire case. On average, the center gets a single fire call per month, meaning a dispatcher may go between 6-7 months per fire call, which requires a different set of discipline and training. It all adds up to a difficult workload which would also take that dispatcher away from being available to handle other calls.

Heimberger added that the WCDC supported Frontenac Fire's move to Central Dispatch and isn't ruling out dispatching for fire services in the future. He also said there are no immediate plans to add any law enforcement agencies to the consortium.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

The loss of one agency means a $30,000 reduction in the WCDC's budget, and the reduction of one dispatcher, from 13 to 12. Heimberger told the Executive Board Wednesday that the final dispatcher to fill that 12th position had been hired.

Heimberger said the St. Louis County Emergency Communications Commission decided Thursday to refund $300,000 of the West Central Dispatch's startup costs.

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