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Truckee Meadows reviews regional dispatch operations, Hexagon CAD migration and automatic-aid procedures
Summary
Deputy Chief Chris Kettering and Shannon Popovich of the regional communications center presented a detailed review of current dispatch arrangements, the planned October Hexagon CAD migration, and automatic- and enhanced-aid procedures for Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.
On May 6, 2025, the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Board of Fire Commissioners heard a detailed presentation on regional dispatch operations, the district's contract with REMSA for dispatch services, and the planned migration to a single regional CAD platform known as Hexagon.
The presentation, led by Deputy Chief Chris Kettering and Shannon Popovich, director of regional communications for REMSA, outlined current systems, the differences between static and dynamic response patterns, and how automatic and enhanced automatic aid operate between Truckee Meadows, the cities of Reno and Sparks and other neighboring jurisdictions. Deputy Chief Chris Kettering said, "Truckee Meadows is on the Washoe County Regional Communication System. It is a 800 megahertz system." He and Popovich cautioned that while Hexagon will improve visibility, it is not a cure-all: "Hexagon is going to be great, but it is not the cure all for everything," Kettering said.
Why it matters: dispatch arrangements determine which crews respond first to emergencies across jurisdictional boundaries. The board's goals include improving response times, clarifying automatic-aid rules, reducing duplicate dispatches and planning longer-term consolidation or other regional changes recommended in a 2023 federal engineering study.
Most important facts - Current dispatch configuration: Truckee Meadows switched dispatch services to REMSA in 2021; REMSA handles medical call processing and primary medical CAD functions for the region. Reno, Sparks and Washoe County currently operate on Tiburon; REMSA (medical) uses TriTech/CentralSquare. The district is scheduled to join the regional Hexagon CAD platform in October 2025. - Automatic vs. enhanced aid: Presenters explained the operational difference. Enhanced aid means a neighboring agency treats certain addresses as if they were the district’s territory and transfers the 911 caller to the district’s dispatch console; automatic aid means the primary PSAP will automatically request the next closest unit when the primary agency’s unit is unavailable. Examples were given for Sun Valley, Spanish Springs, Sparks and Stead/Cold Springs. - Response modeling and AVL/ABL: REMSA uses dynamic AVL/ABL-based dispatching for ambulances; Tiburon historically used static run-card patterns. Presenters emphasized the benefit of dynamic dispatching but noted that the Tiburon implementation had not fully exploited AVL for engines. - Lessons from the 2021 transition: The district reported about $800,000 in estimated savings versus prior status quo, but the rollout had problems: rushed timeline, multiple EFD (emergency fire dispatch) configuration changes, mapping issues that affected enhanced-aid routing, and unmet expectations on integrated ancillary systems (reporting, First Due, ePCR). Kettering said the transition timeline "was way too quick" and that many supporting systems were flipped on simultaneously. - Staffing and training: REMSA added a dedicated secondary fire dispatcher for Truckee Meadows to support large incidents; REMSA and Truckee Meadows now exchange joint training and ride-alongs to build shared experience.
Speakers asked for follow-up material and next steps. Commissioners requested the presentation slides and the 2023 Federal Engineering study cited during the briefing. Shannon Popovich described a practical approach to requests from the district: "The answer is not no. The answer is either yes or let's figure out how we can accomplish this together." Board members signaled interest in studying remaining recommendations from the federal study and in chartering staff to return with options, including a deeper look at consolidation versus retaining multiple PSAPs. Deputy Chief Kettering and the district's interim staff said they will bring a more detailed proposal and the Federal Engineering report back to the board for further direction.
Forward-looking note: Hexagon will allow CAD-wide unit visibility and may reduce double dispatching, but the board and staff emphasized that process changes, policy alignment and interagency agreements must accompany software migration to realize the benefits.
