HCFA Dispatch Operations Roles and Descriptions

Each position is certified by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED) in the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) every two years. Continuing education (CE) credits are required in order to maintain certification.

Recertification consists of 24 CE's every two years and a testing process that is verified by the NAED.

*Operations Manager

Under the direction of the Director, The Operations Manager provides a variety of supervisory, management, and technical duties related to directing and coordinating emergency service dispatching functions. General duties include overseeing staffing, scheduling, hiring, training, evaluations, operations coordination, administrative duties, and handling personnel issues all within the 911 Communications Center. The Operations Manager also works directly with the served fire related agencies at a Chief Officer level performing duties as assigned including any field operational updates or changes. The work schedule is flexible and includes covering on call duty assignments after hours that may require immediate response to the communications center under certain circumstances.

*Fire Communications Supervisor

Under the direction of the Director and Operations Manager, the Fire Communications Supervisor performs varied supervisory work in the Emergency Communications Center. Each shift has a supervisor that provides all duties of a fire dispatcher. They perform a variety of supervisory and technical duties related to directing and coordinating emergency service dispatch functions relying heavily on strong, independent judgment and problem solving skills. The supervisor's work schedule is flexible, includes reassignments for meetings, and include covering on call duty assignments after hours that may require immediate response to the communications center under certain circumstances. Their duties include operations coordination, administrative duties, ancillary duties, and other duties as assigned. Fire Communications Supervisors also oversee the center’s training program and all new employees.

Working Hours: The Communication Center operates 24/7. Interested applicants must be able to work any assigned shift, including weekend and holiday hours, and other out of center assignments as assigned. Routine shifts are based on a 12 hour workday.

*Lead Dispatcher

The Lead Dispatcher role is one where the employee must have an excellent grasp of the work of the team and an understanding of the tasks and activities of a Fire Communication Supervisor. This is an advanced Dispatcher position as the Lead Dispatcher will perform various supervisory and technical duties related to directing and coordinating emergency dispatch services. A Lead Dispatcher performs all tasks and must all requirements and standards contained in the Fire Communications Dispatcher job description. The Lead Dispatcher works under the general supervision of the Communications Supervisor and Operations Manager.

*Fire Communications Dispatcher

Fire Communications Dispatchers work on a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and are the primary answering point for all 911, 10-digit emergency, and non-emergency phone calls within the Central Zone Agencies we serve (Heartland Communications provides dispatch services for a total of eleven fire related agencies). Dispatchers elicit essential incident information from callers; determine the nature and extent of the request, as well as the priority of the problem and the need for police, fire or medical field units. Their duties include call processing, dispatching first responders, and providing specific medical pre-arrival instructions under the MPDS guidelines. Fire Communications Dispatchers are the answering point on all incidents, both fire and medical related and assist to carry out field-initiated requests from the agencies we serve. Fire Communication Dispatchers work under the direct supervision of the Fire Communications Supervisor.

Working Hours: The Communication Center operates 24/7. Interested applicants must be able to work any assigned shift, including weekend and holiday hours, routine shifts are based on a 12 hour workday.