This fall, construction is expected to wrap up on the 19,000 square-foot dispatch center in Templeton for CAL FIRE and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.
Both agencies are eagerly awaiting the transition to a new and improved dispatch center with modern technology, improved communication capabilities, and adequate space.
CAL FIRE Public Information Officer Eva Grady explained how having both dispatch centers under one roof will make communicating easier.
“We are both on the outskirts of San Luis Obispo and we're approximately five miles apart from each other, which may as well be 100 miles because we don't get to interact face to face,” Grady said.
Both dispatch offices will be located on the second floor of the facility, directly across the hall from each other.
Grady said the larger, modern facility will allow more room for dispatchers to work comfortably.
“Currently, we're in a 1940s-era old kitchen that's converted into a command center with upgrades along the years. But it's, to be generous, 2,000 square feet,” Grady said.
The new facility is nearly 10 times larger than their current dispatch center in San Luis Obispo.
“The role of a 911 dispatcher is a stressful job and that stress is only made worse if you’re in a tough work environment," said San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Nate Paul. “When the current building was built, we did not have computers the way we do now. So, for example, the air conditioning is not designed to handle the heat load of all the dispatchers in that small room with all their computer screens, so it’s really hard to maintain even basic temperature control in the current building. Then you add to the fact that we have more people in the room than it was designed for and it makes for a very cramped environment pretty quickly.”
Paul explained that the $39 million facility ensures that both agencies have adequate resources to serve their community for years to come.
“This is a 21st-century facility designed to last us at least the next 50 years,” Paul said.
