The MFPD has been growing rapidly for years, and so too grows our run volume. In 2000 webroke the 1000 run mark, and 2001 is on schedule to be even busier. Fortunately though we havent seen as large an increase in property loss due to fire. This can be attributed to better Fire Safety awareness by our community and decreased response time when there is a problem.

 

Middletown Firefighters are alerted that there is an emergency call by use of a radio pager. When the 911 office receives a request for the Fire Department to respond, they use a set of tones to activate the pagers worn by the Firefighters. Once the pager has been activatedthe dispatcher broadcasts the necessary information about the incident over the radio. (Click on the pager to hear an actual dispatch.) After listening to the dispatch Firefighters respond according to the type of service needed.

 

Of course, all apparatus and all personnel are not necessarily needed at every incident. For example, if we were asked to assist in cleaning up after an automobile accident, 1 apparatus would respond (without using lights or sirens) to handle the situation. If, however, we were asked to respond to a building fire, all paid personnel on duty would immediately respond to the scene in the apparatus and any available volunteers would respond to their assigned stations to form crews to respond additional needed apparatus.

The MFPD also uses the closest station response plan agreed upon by all county fire departments. That means that no matter where you live, if you need assistance, the closest fire units will respond even if its not within their fire district.