Yellowknife (Mar 31/06) - The city’s dispatch service is “a slave with two masters” because emergency calls are answered by city pumphouse workers, whose first job is to ensure the taps keep flowing, not calling for help, according to the union representing firefighters.

Lieut. Craig Halifax said not only are pumphouse dispatchers ill-equipped to handle the 3,500 calls the fire department receives every year, but other than being handed an emergency checklist, they are poorly prepared to deal with emergency situations - such as being able to instruct a parent whose child is choking - when residents call in seeking fire hall assistance.

The 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week dispatch service at pumphouse No.1 answers emergency calls before they’re re-routed to the fire department.

“We feel dispatch is a major liability issue if something goes wrong.”

A report conducted on the city’s behalf in 2002 recommends dispatch be integrated into the fire hall.

The city is planning to adopt a 9-1-1 emergency phone service but it has taken several years to get off the ground.

Halifax didn’t offer specific examples of whether confusion or a misunderstanding at the pumphouse has ever led to near-disasters, but said the problem is widely acknowledged at City Hall.

“I’ve asked (City Hall officials) what’s your direction if there’s a water emergency and the emergency line is ringing,” said Halifax.

“Well, the water emergency takes priority. That’s their primary job. That phone will just ring.”

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the city is optimistic 9-1-1 will be in operation later this year.

“The anticipation is that will get moving by the end of April - the process, not the actual service,” said Van Tighem.