Officials are trying to sort out issues with Tulsa’s dispatch center.
City Councilor Lori Decter Wright said at a Wednesday meeting that firefighters have expressed worries about not meeting National Firefighter Protection Association standards, particularly when it comes to dispatching units correctly and on time.
In a recent firefighters’ union survey reported on by the Tulsa World, 60% of respondents said dispatch delays or errors have negatively affected patient care.
Decter Wright argued it could be the way the dispatch center is set up inside Tulsa’s police department.
“There was a time when the fire department was over all the dispatch, and the police department was feeling like their needs aren’t being met,” she said. “I don’t think this should be an argument over who should be the experts.”
City Councilor Christian Bengel said “one (department) shouldn’t be beholden to the other.”
“Those two structures should be totally separate, reporting to (the public safety commissioner), and they should operate independently with their staffing, their compliance to national standards, and that they have to answer to her why they don’t meet those standards,” Bengel said.
City Public Safety Commissioner Laurel Roberts noted that dispatch models differ between cities.
In response to concerns, a city working group requested $150,000 for an outside consultant to look at pre-hospital services in Tulsa.
“We know (the consultant) will probably give us some good recommendations on that,” Roberts said.
