Reno and regional fire chiefs report progress on shared dispatch, evacuation planning; ask for next steps

Reno and regional fire leaders told the City Council on May 21 that they have moved from discussion to implementation on multiple fronts of a long‑running effort to make fire and emergency medical services (EMS) in the Truckee Meadows faster and more consistent. The update summarized weekly work by an interjurisdictional managers group and operational chiefs, progress on drafting regional operating guidelines, and three near‑term lines of work: (1) unify dispatch routing and implement a shared computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) system (Hexagon) to enable faster, automated aid; (2) prepare a formal, consultant‑led study of regional governance and consolidation options (RFP to be issued by a managers’ committee if the Legislature keeps the study mandate); and (3) build out evacuation planning and route risk analyses for Washoe County and the City of Reno.

Chief David Cochran of Reno Fire said the group had met nearly every week since February and had completed most of a core set of regional standard operating guidelines focused on safety (RIT, Mayday, firefighter safety) and training. Cochran and other chiefs described the Hexagon CAD as the linchpin: once fully configured and tested it will show Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) across jurisdictions and make it possible to automatically route the closest appropriate unit to…