Fire Dispatcher

About the role

Fire-Rescue Dispatchers work on a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and are the primary answering point for all 911, 10-digit emergency, and non-emergency phone calls from within the City of San Diego (Fire-Rescue Department has dispatch contracts with Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City, and Poway).

Responsibilities

• Elicit essential incident information from callers.
• Determine the nature and extent of the request, the priority of the problem and the need for dispatching police, fire or medical field units.
• Enter appropriate information by typing on a computer keyboard into a dispatch format.
• Answer routine inquiries and refer calls not requiring dispatch to the appropriate department or agency.

Requirements

• Age: Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen or have the current legal right to work in the United States.
• Education: Must meet one of the following options:
• Graduation from high school.
• Passage of the General Education Development (G.E.D.) test.
• Passage of the California High School Proficiency Examination (C.H.S.P.E.).
• Possession of a two-year, four-year, or advanced degree from a college or university.
• Experience: Must meet one of the following options:
• One year of full-time experience receiving and dispatching requests for fire and emergency medical services to fire and paramedic units by voice radio or telephone.
• One year of experience as a Dispatcher performing emergency dispatch for a medical transport company or department.

Qualifications

• The ability to communicate and understand any of the following languages: Spanish, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, Somali, Chinese, Indochinese, or Tagalog is highly desirable.

Skills

• Computer skills necessary to operate a CAD system.

Benefits

• Employees in job classifications represented by Municipal Employees Association (MEA) are scheduled to receive the following general wage increases: 3.5% effective 7/1/27, 2% effective 7/1/28, and 2% effective 1/1/29.
• Eligible benefitted employees originally hired on or after July 10, 2021, will be automatically enrolled in the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS).
• Fire Dispatcher employees work 12-hour shifts (44/36 rotation schedule).
• Fire Dispatcher employees may be required to work overtime during training, if needed, on cleared positions.
• Fire Dispatcher employees may be required to work during all City holidays.
• Fire Dispatcher employees are eligible for 17.5% additional pay after successfully completing the paid mandatory Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) certification course.
• Fire Dispatcher employees are subject to mandated overtime beyond their scheduled shift with short notice to maintain staffing levels.
• The communication center in the Fire-Rescue Department operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with day, evening, and night shifts.
• Dispatcher I employees will be rotated to different shifts on a periodic basis.

Pay

• Employees in job classifications represented by Municipal Employees Association (MEA) are scheduled to receive the following general wage increases: 3.5% effective 7/1/27, 2% effective 7/1/28, and 2% effective 1/1/29.
• Fire Dispatcher employees are eligible for 17.5% additional pay after successfully completing the paid mandatory Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) certification course.

Schedule

• The communication center in the Fire-Rescue Department operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with day, evening, and night shifts.
• Dispatcher I employees will be rotated to different shifts on a periodic basis.