The 12,999-square-foot station includes pods for each company within the fire department, explained David Slattery, of Slattery Tackett Architects, LLP, the architectural firm that designed the building. For example, emergency medical responders and the ladder company each would have a pod.

Brawner compared it to a college dorm room with a sitting area and then bedrooms in a suite. That will provide individual privacy, he added, noting the responders include men and women.

Until now, dispatchers have dispatched a call to the fire department as they always have. The dispatcher receives a call about an emergency, once the call is completed the dispatcher then alerts the stations nearest the scene.  

It is expected that the new system could reduce the response time for firefighters anywhere from 25 seconds to a minute or more depending on the length of the call made by someone and the details they are providing.

The system also records and stores data that the department can review at the end of the year.  This only applies to the fire and EMS dispatches, not the police dispatch.