Madison considers dispatch service with Guilford

11/27/2004

By CYNTHIA BARAN , Journal Register News Service

MADISON -- New state regulations that require a 911 dispatcher to stay on the phone until an ambulance arrives have town officials considering a regional dispatch service with Guilford. Madison officials are trying to determine whether it would be less costly to share 911 dispatch duties with Guilford than to continue to handle 911 calls alone.

Part of the impetus for seeking to share dispatch duties with Guilford is that Madison more often than not has only one dispatcher on duty. The dispatcher is responsible not only for answering 911 calls, but also for routine police calls as well as walk-ins to the police station.

The new state regulation requires "uninterrupted medical instructions during a 911 medical emergency call."

The fire chiefs of Madison Hose Company 1 and North Madison Volunteer Fire Company and the director of Madison Ambulance have told town officials that resources are not sufficient to meet the town’s dispatch needs, let alone to meet the new state emergency medical dispatch regulations.

Over a two-year period, Madison received about 2,800 medical emergency calls, 3,500 fire calls and 28,000 police calls.

Police Chief Paul Jakubson said that three out of seven days a week, the town dispatch center has a single dispatcher on duty during the day shift. Five out of seven days it has a single dispatcher on duty for the evening and seven days it has a single dispatcher on duty for the overnight shift.

The Board of Selectmen has appointed an ad hoc Communications Committee to develop a program to ensure compliance with the new state-mandated emergency medical dispatching requirements; to develop a proposal for a regional dispatching services with Guilford; and develop cost estimates for the remaining of this fiscal year, as well as for 2005-06.

The five-member committee is composed of Chairman John Bowers, the health and emergency management director; the two fire chiefs; the ambulance service director and the Police Department’s administrative lieutenant.

Madison First Selectman Tom Scarpati was not available for comment this week on the dispatch situation, but Guilford First Selectman Gene Bishop said, "If regionalizing can save the towns money, it’s worth exploring."

Bishop said he’s aware that Guilford fire, police and ambulance officials have had conversations with their counterparts in Madison, but nothing has been formally communicated to the Board of Selectmen.