I want to take a look at the myth’s the Town Council has
been told about the Lisbon Communication Center.
1.
The phone number to call in an emergency is
353-2500.
The correct phone number to call in an emergency is
911. 911 is the official state number to
report all emergencies. By using
353-2500, causes a delay in reporting emergencies to the Lisbon Communication
Center and delays the dispatching of First Responders.
This is false because 911 is the correct number to report all
emergencies.
2. All 911 calls go to the Lisbon
Communication Center.
All 911 calls for the Lisbon/Durham area go directly to the
Androscoggin County Dispatch. The County
Dispatchers login in the call to the state NEXGEN911 system. If it is a medical emergency, they gather
addition information to create an Emergency Medial Code to be passed on to
First Responders to expedite treatment and to increase chances of
survival. Once this is completed, Lisbon
Communication Center is notified, if the County can get through, by using
353-2500. Once the information is passed
to the Lisbon Communication Center, First Responders are dispatched to the
scene.
This is false because the County has to notify Lisbon
Communication Center once they receive the 911 information. Absolutely no 911 calls go directly to the
Lisbon Communication Center.
3. Dispatchers need to be familiar with the
Lisbon/Durham area.
There is absolute no need for Dispatchers to be familiar
with the area they support. There are
several reasons for this: (1) the
equipment in Androscoggin County Dispatch pinpoint calls as they are received
on computer screens. Dispatchers can
watch as first responders arrive on the scene and remain on the line with them
to direct response. These computers have
maps with streets and building on them so it is easy to identify
locations. Lisbon Communication Center
does not have this equipment available to them; 2. Androscoggin County Dispatchers normally
dispatch local first responders
who are very familiar with the area they are responsible for; 3. Were Lisbon Dispatchers familiar with Greene
and Turner when Lisbon dispatched for them and the answer is no so the same
principle apply.
This is false because the Androscoggin County Dispatch has
equipment to identify location of callers and is able to direct first
responders to the scene more quickly.
4. The
Lisbon Communication Center has an excellent record when it comes to
dispatching first responders.
This is another play on words. The fact is response time is started the
moment the Lisbon Communication Center receives notification. However, as it has been recorded,
Androscoggin County Dispatch has had problems getting through to the Lisbon
Communication Center because 353-2500 is busy.
This is a major problem because if the Androscoggin County Dispatchers
could notify our first responders directly this would eliminate all problems
when it comes to response time. First
Responders are dispatched as soon as they are notified.
This is true and false because it depends on how you spin
it. The response time begins when the
First Responders are notified. This
response time could be identical if everything was equal but in Lisbon/Durham
everything is NOT equal. Androscoggin County
Dispatchers have got to notify Lisbon Communication Center prior to First
Responders being dispatched. They are
numerous times when Lisbon Communication Center could not be reached because
353-2500 was busy.
So providing the above FACTS how is it possible that the
Lisbon Communication Center remaining open is in the best interest of the
community and its citizens? Chief Brooks
has used deception, intimidation, and misquotes to the Town Council in order to
keep the Lisbon Communication Center open.
Taxpayers are being forced to pay, in 2016-2017, $339,948.00 for a system that puts their lives at risk. Previous Councilors did some research and determined that
closing the Lisbon Communication Center would save the taxpayers approximately
$190,000.00 annually if the town contracted with the Androscoggin County
Dispatch. However, this project was stopped
after the dog and pony show orchestrated by Chief Brooks’s using uninformed
people to influence the Council. The
transfer to Androscoggin County Dispatch cannot be like throwing a switch and
you have dispatching. The County has a
lot to do and will take roughly 3-6 months to complete. However the technology is there and they are
willing to accept Lisbon. Every day that goes by cost the taxpayers
$931.36 so it is important that the town get started right away. Once switched over it will only cost
taxpayers roughly $520.55 a day for dispatching.
Can anyone in their right mind tell me why Chairman Roger
Bickford and the remaining Town Council wants to waited until November to get started? I know that Chairman Bickford wants the
people to make this decision but it is going to be a NON-BINDING vote and we all know what that means.
We need to stop wasting tax dollars and do what is right for the
community NOW instead of our friends.
Larry Fillmore
