Girard Fire union votes no confidence for city’s 911 dispatch center

GIRARD

The Girard International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1220, the city’s fire department union, issued a vote of no confidence in Girard’s 911 Dispatch Center.

The union is concerned that “the Girard 911 Dispatch Center is incapable of safely and efficiently serving the fire and emergency medical service dispatching needs of the residents of Girard and the fire department,” reads a news release.

The union reported there were 500 dispatching delays and failures of notification over the last 11 years, including an incident in which the fire department received delayed notice for a motor vehicle entrapment call on March 10 this year.

The union supports moving 911 services to the Trumbull County 911 center, saying it would solve dispatching problems.

Girard Mayor James Melfi said dispatching the fire department to every call is unnecessary and said people don’t always request emergency medical services after calls for incidents such as fender-benders.

He also said keeping the city’s dispatch center independent has saved the city money.