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| Brian Wilson, deputy fire chief, shows one of the new computers in one of the fire trucks at the South Hill Fire Station on May 6, 2016. Lisa Goudy/Times-Herald |
It’s been nine
months since the city reorganized the fire department, but the full
computer-aided dispatch system isn’t available yet.
“We’re a
little frustrated with that,” said Gord Hewitt, president of the Moose Jaw
Firefighters Association. “We knew it wasn’t ready, the new system wasn’t in
place …. They came out and said, ‘We’re doing this to provide a more efficient
service’ and the technology was never in place.”
On July 17,
five members of the local call centre dispatch were laid off. On Aug. 10, 2015, council approved
changes to occur within the Moose Jaw Fire Department, including computer-aided
dispatch (CAD) licensing. Now 911 calls go to Prince Albert and it’s dispatched
over the system.
“We were
supposed to have this system in our trucks because people up there have no idea
the area around Moose Jaw. They just don’t know,” said Hewitt. “On more than a
few occasions, there’s been some confusion with the dispatchers.”
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