Fire & Rescue committee debates dispatch software, mapping and vendor issues

Chief Monaco, reporting for the Fire & Rescue Association, told the committee the budget-and-finance group reviewed operational expense requests and introduced an updated CIP template. He said communications and CAD problems have prompted work with county GIS to map hydrant locations because hydrant presence alters dispatching rules.

Monaco and Director Oaten discussed the county's experience with 1st Due reporting software. Monaco said the software has performed well for certain career-assignment features but has been "extremely problematic" for EPCR reporting in a volunteer context; Oaten described troubleshooting and vendor nonresponsiveness. Committee members raised the idea of consolidating alerting and reporting under a single county payment to simplify administration, and Monaco said some agencies are interested in ESO because it includes maintenance, inventory and apparatus-record features.

Oaten said the First Due contract is currently on pause pending decisions and that a transition to another product is under active discussion: "The contract is due for renewal, but it is on pause right now, until we get some more definitive answers on what we need to do," he said. Committee members asked to be kept informed about vendor progress and costs and expressed concern about redundant payments across departments.

No formal procurement or contract action was taken at the meeting; members requested continuing updates.