Central Elgin shopping for dispatch

[five_alarm]

CENTRAL ELGIN, ON - Central Elgin is shopping for a fire dispatch service. But shortly after council agreed to seek proposals, Fire Chief Don Crocker stressed it’s not a sign of dissatisfaction with the service they now get from the St. Thomas Fire Department.

“By doing this approach, it will give us an opportunity to see if there are alternatives out there,” Crocker told the Times-Journal following Monday night’s regular council meeting. The decision to issue the request for proposals (RFP) passed unanimously, with Mayor Dave Rock declaring a conflict due to his employment as a St. Thomas firefighter.

“We may end up staying (with St. Thomas), not doing anything. It’s just an opportunity for us to review,” Crocker said. Council’s decision comes after concerns were raised earlier this fall about mistakes made in dispatching Central Elgin’s fire stations.

Source: stthomastimesjournal.com (http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=132518&linkid=1216&parent=news(headlines)&)

[five_alarm]

CENTRAL ELGIN, ON - Central Elgin intends to go back to the bargaining table with the City of St. Thomas in another attempt to get a new fire dispatch agreement signed.

Council Monday approved Fire Chief Don Crocker further investigating requests for proposals from both St. Thomas and London for fire dispatching services. Crocker said the successful bidder needs to be able to accommodate Central Elgin's goals for fire dispatch.

In an interview after the meeting, he said those goals are to supply enhanced maps and more expedient drop time for calls from the time they are placed by the caller until they are heard from the dispatcher by local firefighters. St. Thomas fire department dispatches all fire departments in the city and Elgin county.

Source: stthomastimesjournal.com (http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=221157)