County regional fire dispatch center expands EMD coverage; Lompoc fire chiefs highlight response gains

Lompoc — Fire Chief Brian Fallon and the Regional Fire Communication Center’s dispatch manager described a countywide shift to an integrated fire-and-EMS dispatch operation that Lompoc officials say improves prearrival medical instruction and cross‑jurisdiction coordination.

Jackie Jenkins, RFCC dispatch manager, told the council the center is staffed and trained to handle both emergency medical dispatch (EMD) and emergency fire dispatch (EFD) protocols and that the RFCC uses an automatic vehicle locator and shared computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to send the closest appropriate resource “regardless of agency jurisdiction.” “Agencies no longer operate independently. They operate collectively,” Jenkins said.

Why it matters: Lompoc fire officials said the RFCC’s full EMD coverage increases survival odds for cardiac arrest and other critical medical calls by ensuring dispatchers give standardized prearrival instructions immediately. Fallon noted that prior to RFCC implementation, Longpoche residents received EMD on only about 10% of medical calls; Jenkins said the RFCC now applies EMD protocols to all medical calls countywide.

Fallon and Jenkins described operational features: a dedicated expanded dispatch room to manage major incidents without disrupting the floor, EMD interrogation cards to guide callers through lifesaving steps, AVL…