Communications Division

Help during an emergency situation begins with a call to 9-1-1.  In Rochester Hills, landline phone calls go directly to our Communications Center.  If a call for fire or medical emergencies is made from a cell phone, the call goes to the Oakland County Sheriff Department Dispatch who then transfers it to our Communications Center.  The Rochester Hills Fire Department Communications Center is professionally staffed with a minimum of two dispatchers per each shift, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  All Rochester Hills dispatchers are certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), which means that when you are on the phone reporting an emergency, our dispatchers guide you through life-saving first aid procedures while our units are already responding to the scene.  Our dispatchers also receive training to work with the hearing impaired, participate in emergency communications courses, as well as receive medical and fire training.

The Dispatchers not only take calls and dispatch units, they also need to know what is going on during an emergency situation, which is why they are provided with fire training.  Dispatchers act as part of the accountability personnel on a scene listening to the radio and making sure that when all our units are busy they contact a neighbnoring community to cover Rochester Hills.