They usually answer emergency calls in front of a computer, but Yakima is now sending out Suncomm 911 dispatchers into the field as technical support when needed.
“So instead of them concerning about what resources they have or what resources they have available, it's our job to keep track of that and relay that information to them as needed,” Cameron Haubrich with SunComm said.
The incident commander would set up their post and the dispatcher would be right there next to them.
They would use a large white board to assign different jobs to different crews and keep track of where their last known position was if communication was cut.
From there, Jeff Pfaff with the Yakima fire department said command could work on their next move to put out a fire while technical support could fill them in on any new information coming in from 911 calls.