Valley Regional Emergency Communication Center was approved as an Emergency Fire Dispatch Center of Excellence earlier this month by the Board of Accreditation of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED). Therefore, Valley Regional Emergency Communication Center earned the distinguished honor of becoming the 35th Emergency Fire Dispatch Accredited Center in the world and the first in the state of California. Valley Regional Emergency Communication Center is also an Emergency Medical Dispatch Accredited Center which makes the agency the 25th dual accredited Fire and Medical accredited center in the world.
The center serves multiple agencies in San Joaquin County, including Escalon fire and ambulance and Farmington and Collegeville fire departments.
The IAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services world-wide. Comprised of four allied Academies for medical, fire, police, and emergency communication nurse system dispatching, the IAED supports first-responder related research, unified protocol application, legislation for emergency call center regulation, and strengthening the emergency dispatch community through education, certification, and accreditation. An Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) is the highest distinction in 9-1-1 emergency communication services.
Valley Regional Emergency Communication Center achieved accreditation for demonstrating compliance to the Fire Priority Dispatch System (FPDS) and the associated “20 Points of Excellence”. The “20 Points of Excellence” encompass international practice standards of excellence for Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD). This level of operational effectiveness addresses system oversight, quality improvement programs, and individual certification of all emergency call-takers. Accreditation is a voluntary accomplishment that demonstrates an unprecedented dedication to public safety from not only each individual within the communications center, but also the administration.
In addition to being featured in the next issue of The Journal of Emergency Dispatch, Valley Regional Emergency Communication Center will be recognized on The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch’s website (http://www.emergencydispatch.org/AccredCurrentAces).
