Fire Communications Status Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
April 17, 2025
Item (d)2.
Presented by:
Robert Sapien, Jr., Fire Chief, Fire Department
Michael Wodnick, Division Manager, Fire Communications
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Protocol SJFD Average of all Accredited
Centers of Excellence worldwide
Fire Priority Dispatch System 95% 87.67%
Medical Priority Dispatch System 95% 88.43%
Fire Communications Dispatch Services
2 Thursday, April 17, 2025
• Secondary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)
• Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS)
• Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS)
• Emergency Medical Dispatch Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) Fiscal Year
9-1-1 Lines
Answered Within
20 Seconds
(95% Compliance)
9-1-1 Lines
Answered Within
15 Seconds
(90% Compliance)
9-1-1
Lines Call
Volume
9-1-1 Lines
Answered
Within 20
Seconds
9-1-1 Lines
Answered
Within 15
Seconds
2019-2020 89.61% 88.10% 69,798 62,548 61,492
2020-2021 88.28% 87.28% 75,276 66,456 65,699
2021-2022 86.36% 85.30% 83,521 72,125 71,245
2022-2023 79.12% 78.13% 94,864 75,055 74,117
2023-2024 81.11% 80.11% 91,827 74,480 73,561
9-1-1 Call Answer Time Compliance Rate
3 Thursday, April 17, 2025
• California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) 9-1-1 call answer time standard is “Ninety (90%) percent of all 9-1-1 calls arriving at the Public Safety Answering Point SHALL be answered within Fifteen (15) seconds. Ninety-five (95%) of all 9-1-1 calls SHOULD be answered within twenty (20) seconds.”
Language Access & Bilingual Capabilities
4 61%
24%
6%
2% 2%
1%
1%
1% 1%
Spanish*
Vietnamese*
Mandarin*
Farsi (Persian)*
Korean*
Russian*
Cantonese*
Punjabi
Tagalog*
• Fire Communications utilizes third-party
interpreter services CyraCom and
Language Line Solutions
• 40 languages accessed through these
services in FY 2023-2024
• 3,125 uses for calls on emergency
phone lines
• 137 uses for calls on nonemergency phone lines or use by field personnel
• Fire Communications has personnel
certified by the City as proficient in:
• Spanish (1.0 FTE)
• Vietnamese (1.0 FTE) *Languages recognized for bilingual certification Thursday, April 17, 2025
9-1-1 and 10-Digit Emergency Line Call Volume
5 Fiscal Year (FY) % Change
Total
Call Volume
9-1-1
Call Volume
10-Digit
Call Volume
2019-2020 0.92% 93,698 69,798 23,900
2020-2021 4.21% 97,641 75,276 22,365
2021-2022 10.70% 108,085 83,521 24,564
2022-2023 11.29% 120,291 94,864 25,427
2023-2024 -2.14% 117,715 91,827 25,888
• Differences between 9-1-1 and 10-digit emergency line • 25.63% increase in 9-1-1 and 10-digit emergency line call volume from FY 2019-2020 to FY 2023-2024
• 56.52% increase in 9-1-1 and 10-digit emergency line call volume from FY 2011-2012 to FY 2023-2024
Thursday, April 17, 2025
9-1-1 Call Volume and Abandoned Call Rate
6 • 31.56% increase in 9-1-1 call volume between FY 2019-2020 & FY 2023-2024 • Overall increase in abandoned call volume in the last 5 fiscal years • As of March 31, 2025, FY 2024-2025 Year-To-Date data shows a decrease in the abandoned call rate to 9.88%
• Call Transfer Process
• Call Circumstances
Fiscal Year (FY)
9-1-1
Call Volume
9-1-1
Abandoned Call Volume
9-1-1
Abandoned Call Rate
2019-2020 69,798 4,995 7.16%
2020-2021 75,276 5,840 7.76%
2021-2022 83,521 9,691 11.60%
2022-2023 94,864 18,382 19.38%
2023-2024 91,827 14,689 16.00%
Thursday, April 17, 2025
9-1-1 Abandoned Cellular Calls Location
7 Thursday, April 17, 2025
• Highest volume of 9-1-1 abandoned
cellular calls found within portions of
Council Districts 3, 6, & 7
• Aligns with Council Districts where
the highest volume of cellular 9-1-1
calls originate
Emergency Medical Event Triage
8 Thursday, April 17, 2025
1,949
1,628
1,281
1,125
531
512
157 133 96 27
Fire Communications Untriaged Medical Events FY 2023-2024 Aborted/Canceled Events
Non-SJFD Dispatch Centers Calls
Event Type Changed/Upgraded to Untriaged
Communications Barrier
Frontline Personnel Calls
Law Enforcement Related Events
Other
Documentation Does Not Indicate
Non-SJFD Generated Event
Auto Aid/Mutual Aid With Other Agencies
Fire Communications Staffing
9 Thursday, April 17, 2025
Classification
Public Safety Radio
Dispatcher
Senior Public Safety
Dispatcher
Supervising Public Safety
Dispatcher
Authorized
FTEs* 30.48 11 3
Authorized Budgeted Dispatcher Staffing Levels
Classification Public Safety Radio Dispatcher Senior Public Safety Dispatcher Day Shift
6:30am – 2:30pm 5 1
Swing Shift
2:30pm – 10:30pm 5 1
Midnight Shift
10:30pm – 6:30am 4 1
Standard Staffing Levels by Shift
* Full-Time Equivalents
Fiscal Year
Public Safety Radio
Dispatcher
Senior Public Safety
Dispatcher
Supervising Public Safety
Dispatcher
2019-2020 6.48 2 0
2020-2021 5.48 2 0
2021-2022 5.48 3 1
2022-2023 11 3 0
2023-2024 5 2 0
Fire Communications Staffing
10 • Fire Communications Staffing Initiatives:
• Increase authorized telecommunicator Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions • Augment workforce with Public Safety Communication Specialist positions (call-takers) • Focused intent on vacancy reduction through a robust recruitment plan • Progress:
• 93.25% increase in Public Safety Radio Dispatcher Trainee (PSRD-T) applications • 2.0 FTE approved overstrength PSRD-T positions
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Vacancies Per Classification
Questions?
11 Robert Sapien, Jr. Fire Chief
Fire Department
Michael Wodnick, Division Manager
Fire Communications
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Fire Communications Status Report
Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee
April 17, 2025
Item (d)2.