The Association approved the updates to the State Dispatch Policies and Procedures in July 2005.   Each fire department that utilizes State Dispatch should become familiar with the updates and make sure that all department members are properly trained on the protocols.   These changes were brought forth due to an increase in call volume that is being experienced on the system and an effort to remain in compliance with FCC licensing regulations.   The highlights of the updates include the following:

• The dispatch frequency shall only be used for radio transmissions that are intended for the dispatcher.   Departmental announcements and talk-around or car-to-car traffic are prohibited on the dispatch frequency.
• The evening pager test has been changed to a weekly test that will be conducted on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m.
• The dispatchers will be making a practice of repeating all important transmissions that are received by State Dispatch.   This includes scene call acknowledgements, arrival and size-up reports, and requests for mutual aid.
• All transmissions on the dispatch frequency shall be made in plain english.   The use of 10-codes is not accepted for the sake of clarity during emergencies.