MACH Alert Fire Station Alerting

When the call for help is made, responders cannot arrive soon enough and the stakes couldn’t be higher as lives and property depend on a fast and effective response. The challenge to reduce the time to mobilization involves both dispatch and station operations. NFPA sets the standard for alarm handling time at dispatch to be 64 seconds. The NFPA standard for station turnout times is 60 seconds for EMS and 80 seconds for fire and special operations.

Call takers and dispatchers are charged with collecting input, processing it and then alerting the appropriate responders. And when multiple stations are needed, dispatchers need to alert each station. Responders stop whatever they are doing, collect as much information they can as they quickly put on their gear and get wheels rolling.