The City of Brantford is home to a population of 82,000 and is located approximately 60 miles west of Toronto. The city covers an area of 25 square miles, and is serviced by the Brantford Fire Department.
The Brantford Fire Department has a current compliment of 100 Firefighters, 7 Fire Prevention Officers, 1 Training Officer, 4 Communications Officers and Maintenance and Administrative staff.
While attending at my Field Observation, I was invited to assist in some of the basic duties of the Communication Centre staff, ie. Radio checks, answering administrative phone lines and working with the Platoon Chief.
My time with the BFD allowed me to gain a better understanding of how diverse the field of Emergency Telecommunications is and how Policy and Procedure differ, in some instances, quiet significantly from one agency to the next. My time there also enabled me to come to a greater understanding of the demands placed upon a communicator, and how vital appropriate training and self-discipline are to the effective operations of the department as a whole.
I was able to observe both the best in the field and areas that need improvement, both of which I will elaborate on within these pages. Further, my time with the BFD has increased my personal desire to work within either the Fire or Police Services area, for it is in these areas that I feel my personal experience can best be utilized and my inherent sense of duty to my fellow citizens will be fulfilled.
COMMUNICATION CENTRE OVERVIEW.
Describe the Structure of the Communication Centre.
The Brantford Fire Department Communications Centre is located on the main floor in the Central Services Building. During a 10 hour day shift there is one Communicator on duty and one of the Firefighters is designated, "2nd Control". This person relieves the communicator for lunch and breaks.
The Communication System itself consists of seven independent Pentium 2450 computers, each programed with the CriSys CAD system.