ENF/TMU Camino Interagency Emergency Command Center
In 1980, CDF was in the process of building a new Emergency Command Center and installing "state-of-art" dispatch consoles. The
leadership of the CDF Amador-El Dorado Unit and the Fire Management Officer for the Eldorado National Forest decided to establish
the Camino Interagency Command Center in this new facility at the CDF Headquarters in Camino. The plan was for the two relatively
small staffs (about three or four people per agency) to function as a fully integrated dispatch center. The responsibilities were much less
complicated when the agencies joined in the joint dispatch center. CDF dispatched its forces, plus three small volunteer fire departments
in El Dorado County and all of the volunteer fire departments in Amador County. The Forest Service dispatchers dispatched only their
own forces.
The benefits of two similar entities working side-by-side are many, but the two primary ones are: close coordination of firefighting resources and the ability of either agency to help the other when needed. There were three key visions for this new experiment: full integration of dispatch operations and personnel; closest forces to be dispatched; and, closest chief officers were to be utilized. Since this concept was new and different, the CDF Unit Chief and the Forest Service Fire Management Officers met with key staff and the two center managers monthly to hash out issues and there were many. To meet the objective of total integration of dispatch personnel, they required that the primary dispatch position rotate between agency dispatcher personnel on a daily basis so that everyone was proficient.
In 1996, plans were being developed to move the operations into a newer facility. Under the new plans, the old center would serve as the expanded dispatch as needed. Relationships with the local government fire departments in El Dorado County and CDF began to "warm" and there were discussions that the fire departments would move all their dispatching functions from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Central Dispatch to Camino. Plans were developed to build a new dispatch center adjacent to the existing facility that would house this much larger operation. The new center opened in 1997. The responsibilities included the dispatching for: CDF Amador-El Dorado Unit; the Eldorado National Forest; six fire departments in Amador County; and, ten fire departments and ambulance services for the west slope of El Dorado County. There was a considerable increase in CDF staffing, funded by the fire departments and ambulance authority. By this time the center was using the CDF developed computer-aided dispatch system known as CalCAD.
During the winter of 1999 a new computer aided dispatch system, built by Tri-Tech Corporation, was installed, but it really never worked as advertised. Since this new system was not supported by CDF Information Technology Services and not regularly upgraded, it had high maintenance and prone to crashing.
In 2000, the dispatch responsibilities for the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit were moved from Minden, Nevada to Camino. This brought additional workload and the authority for one additional Forest Service dispatcher. It also required the center to monitor one additional Command Net. There were attempts to move the Basin forces to the El Dorado Command Net, but they were unsuccessful. In 2004, a new computer aided dispatch system was developed and AltarisCAD was installed in the ECC. This was the third generation of CAD to be utilized and this one appears to be meeting the dispatching needs for all parties.
The difference between Dispatch Centers and Command Centers is that the Command Center is the Incident Commander of the Incident until a command structure is established at the scene and an Incident Commander is announced. This allows the Command Center to augment or amend the assignment as needed from gathered information. Dispatch Centers don't. A qualified fire officer is on duty at all times at Camino.
The benefits of two similar entities working side-by-side are many, but the two primary ones are: close coordination of firefighting resources and the ability of either agency to help the other when needed. There were three key visions for this new experiment: full integration of dispatch operations and personnel; closest forces to be dispatched; and, closest chief officers were to be utilized. Since this concept was new and different, the CDF Unit Chief and the Forest Service Fire Management Officers met with key staff and the two center managers monthly to hash out issues and there were many. To meet the objective of total integration of dispatch personnel, they required that the primary dispatch position rotate between agency dispatcher personnel on a daily basis so that everyone was proficient.
In 1996, plans were being developed to move the operations into a newer facility. Under the new plans, the old center would serve as the expanded dispatch as needed. Relationships with the local government fire departments in El Dorado County and CDF began to "warm" and there were discussions that the fire departments would move all their dispatching functions from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Central Dispatch to Camino. Plans were developed to build a new dispatch center adjacent to the existing facility that would house this much larger operation. The new center opened in 1997. The responsibilities included the dispatching for: CDF Amador-El Dorado Unit; the Eldorado National Forest; six fire departments in Amador County; and, ten fire departments and ambulance services for the west slope of El Dorado County. There was a considerable increase in CDF staffing, funded by the fire departments and ambulance authority. By this time the center was using the CDF developed computer-aided dispatch system known as CalCAD.
During the winter of 1999 a new computer aided dispatch system, built by Tri-Tech Corporation, was installed, but it really never worked as advertised. Since this new system was not supported by CDF Information Technology Services and not regularly upgraded, it had high maintenance and prone to crashing.
In 2000, the dispatch responsibilities for the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit were moved from Minden, Nevada to Camino. This brought additional workload and the authority for one additional Forest Service dispatcher. It also required the center to monitor one additional Command Net. There were attempts to move the Basin forces to the El Dorado Command Net, but they were unsuccessful. In 2004, a new computer aided dispatch system was developed and AltarisCAD was installed in the ECC. This was the third generation of CAD to be utilized and this one appears to be meeting the dispatching needs for all parties.
The difference between Dispatch Centers and Command Centers is that the Command Center is the Incident Commander of the Incident until a command structure is established at the scene and an Incident Commander is announced. This allows the Command Center to augment or amend the assignment as needed from gathered information. Dispatch Centers don't. A qualified fire officer is on duty at all times at Camino.