Wisconsin County Retrains Dispatchers to Cut Response Times

Brown County is working to reduce emergency response times after Green Bay’s new fire chief said the Wisconsin department is too slow in responding to calls.

Press-Gazette Media reports about half the Green Bay Metro Fire Department responses last December were slower than the industry standard of 90 seconds.

Chief David Litton says part of the delay comes from 911 dispatchers starting the response clock before sounding the alarm at the station. But he says county dispatchers also spend too much time asking questions before sending responders to medical emergencies.

Dispatchers are being retrained to sound the alarm faster and get firefighters more quickly out the door to emergencies.

The new process is set to begin April 1, and will be used in every fire department in Brown County.