The proposed merger between the Pettis County Ambulance District and the Sedalia Police Department’s dispatched services is nearing completion, after the PCAD Board of Directors heard an update on the project during a January 20 work session.
SPD Cmdr. Matt Wirt told the board dispatchers would be ready go to live at 8 a.m., February 2. PCAD announced last fall that it would change to using SPD services from its current Morgan County dispatchers to help shorten response time and streamline emergency services in the area. Wirt, PCAD Administrator Mike Gardner, and other area emergency services personnel have been working extensively on the project to ensure a smooth transition.
“We’ll go through training with PCAD (Wednesday) on the fire and mobile dispatches,” Wirt told the board. “They’ll be able to see everything on their laptops in the ambulances and speak with the dispatchers. Our folks are all trained so we should be ready for February 2.”
After this week’s training is complete, PCAD employees will be able to log into the new dispatch system to see and interact with the software before it goes live.
“This’ll give them a chance to learn the software when it’s not critical so hopefully there won’t be much of a learning curve when we start,” Wirt added.
During the meeting the board also discussed possibly buying hand-held radios for the seven rural fire departments in Pettis County. Gardner told the board that fire departments in Green Ridge, Smithton, Hughesville and other areas have no radios and can’t coordinate with PCAD ambulance services easily.
“If we’re dispatched to Smithton, for example, they can’t radio to tell us what emergency medical services they need ahead of time,” he said. “We don’t know what we’re getting into until we get there.”
Board member Mike Layton suggested PCAD purchase or help purchase one hand-held radio for each department to begin with, and see if that helped response.
“I don’t think this is something we need to decide tonight, but it is something we need to seriously think about,” added board member Dave Clippert.
Gardner told the board he would look into pricing, speak to rural fire department personnel and put together a package to be discussed at a future meeting.