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 tracking, shared hydrant-mapping and an integrated platform (Tableau Command) to coordinate resources and automatic move-ups when units are committed elsewhere.

Council questions centered on costs, jurisdictional responsibilities and governance. Council members asked whether federal entities such as Vandenberg Air Force Base participate; Jenkins said the base does not share the RFCC CAD but does participate in some cooperative platforms and will respond into the city under mutual-aid arrangements. Several council members pressed the city attorney and fire staff about whether LAFCO review or an interagency cost-sharing agreement is required when the city’s resources are routinely called outside city limits. Fallon said the operational arrangements are governed by a joint operations committee and a Joint Executive Committee made up of fire chiefs, and he provided raw response tallies showing mutual responses last year (county engines into the city 176 times; city into county 133 times).

On financing, councilors asked about the council’s share of the RFCC expense (presented as a roughly $362,000 annual cost) and how variable call volumes affect per‑call charges. Fallon explained the cost components include fixed expenses, indirect costs and a per-call charge; he said a rise in calls would change the per‑call component and urged monitoring as call volume varies. Jenkins said the performance standards include a local-answer target of 15 seconds 95% of the time and transfer to RFCC within 30 seconds 90% of the time.

Several council members urged staff to seek LAFCO guidance to clarify whether routine responses outside the city might trigger annexation or fire-protection‑service agreements; the city attorney agreed to contact LAFCO and report back to council.

Speakers (from transcript): - Brian Fallon, Fire Chief (government) - Jackie Jenkins, Regional Fire Communication Center dispatch manager (government) - Mayor James Mosby, Mayor (government) - Council Member Bridal, Lompoc City Council (government) - Council Member Bridge, Lompoc City Council (government) - City Attorney (named in transcript: Sugu) (government)

Authorities referenced (as stated in meeting): - Joint Executive Committee and Joint Operations Committee (governance bodies for RFCC) — referenced by Fallon - NFPA (as referenced in presentation slides; transcript cites “NFPA 17 10” guidance) — referenced by Fallon

Actions (meeting record): - No ordinance or appropriation vote taken; council asked staff and city attorney to consult with LAFCO and return with legal guidance on jurisdictional and cost-sharing implications (direction to staff).

Discussion vs. decision: The item was a presentation and discussion of operational benefits and costs of the RFCC; council gave direction to staff to obtain LAFCO input and to report back. No binding contract or budget change was approved at the meeting.

Clarifying details extracted from transcript: - Prior to RFCC implementation, Lompoc received EMD for about 10% of medical calls; RFCC now applies EMD countywide for medical calls, per Jenkins. - Reported mutual aid tallies for prior year: county engines responded into the city 176 times; city responded into county 133 times (raw counts provided by staff). - Target performance metrics cited: local answer time 15 seconds (95% of calls) and transfer to RFCC within 30 seconds (90% of calls).

Proper names (as used in article): - Regional Fire Communication Center (RFCC) (organization) - Tableau Command (platform) (product/organization) - Vandenberg (Vandenberg Air Force Base) (federal facility)

Searchable tags: ["dispatch","EMD","RFCC","fire","mutual aid","LAFCO","public safety"]

Salience (editorial): {"overall":0.75,"overall_justification":"Affects public-safety response times and mutual-aid costs; countywide operational change with immediate local effects.","impact_scope":"regional","attention_level":"high","novelty":0.40}

Provenance: presentation and Q&A transcript spans (RFCC video and slides, plus Q&A) between approximately 2455.77 and 5413.76 seconds.