Mehlville Fire District to be Dispatched by Central County Emergency 911
Central County Emergency 911 Dispatch
In the near future, Mehlville FPD will be dispatched by Central County Emergency 911 (CCE911). Central County provides fire and emergency medical
dispatching services for area fire districts and departments.
Mehlville FPD will be installing new equipment on all fire and ambulance apparatus and staff vehicles. The equipment is known as MDT/AVL (Mobile Data
Terminals/Automatic Vehicle Location). The MDT/AVL components will allow Fire/Medics to communicate directly with the Dispatch Center. In turn, CCE911 will
be able to track the exact location of each of Mehlville's units.
Central County Emergency 911
Dispatching Efficiency
After Mehlville FPD moves to the new Dispatch Center, when an alarm is received, using basic position, speed, direction and time information from a
satellite, the system will calculate the estimated time of arrival for each unit and then select the closest unit to dispatch. This will occur in a matter
of seconds. This type of dispatching has been successfully utilized in many parts of the country for some time now. This may mean that units from
neighboring departments may be closer and will respond instead of Mehlville equipment. The public can assist MFPD by making sure that their addresses are
highly visible on their homes and businesses as described in the article "Address Identification to Aid Emergency Responders".
Mapping the District
Mehlville Firefighters and Paramedics are in the process of verifying all addresses within the Mehlville Fire Protection District. A third party, Midwest
GIS, has been hired by CCE911 to verify fire hydrant locations within the District. All of this work is being done in an effort to allow Mehlville
equipment to respond to the exact location of an emergency scene faster. With the touch of a button, all of the information that is being collected and
verified will be accessible on a laptop computer. Information that is integral to the successful outcome of an emergency, such as building floor plans,
special hazards, and routing information will be displayed instantly. Mehlville's Board of Directors believes that this new type of dispatching will
significantly reduce the response time of pumpers and ambulances to an emergency scene.
Address Identification to Aid Emergency Responders
The 2009 International Fire Code requires that new and existing homes and businesses should have building address numbers placed in a position that is
plainly legible and visible from the street or road fronting the property. These numbers shall contrast in color with their background. For simplicity
purposes, these should be Arabic numbers. Alphabetical letters are also acceptable. Numbers shall be a minimum of 4 inches high and ½ inch wide.
Address numbers should be maintained by the property owner.
Meeting Agenda
