The Alabama
Forestry Commission (AFC) is pleased to announce a new tool that will enable
them to better serve the citizens of Alabama during wildfires and other
emergency situations across the state. An additional wildfire dispatch center
is now operational in the Gardendale Regional office which will provide a means
to more efficiently and accurately dispatch wildfire response and protection.
“We began the design phase three years
ago,” AFC’s Communications Technician Supervisor Brad Smith explained.
“Montgomery Dispatch will continue to dispatch the counties in south Alabama,
while the new Gardendale Dispatch will take over the responsibilities of
dispatching counties in north Alabama.” He described Gardendale Dispatch as a ‘redundant
center’ meaning that either Montgomery or Gardendale will now be capable of
backing up the its sister center and dispatching all 67 counties in the event
issues arise at either center.
According to Smith, splitting the state
into two dispatch centers will give the agency the flexibility of being able to
operate as two centers, or in the event of severe weather or power outages,
either center will be able to serve the entire state at virtually the flip of a
switch. Having two operation centers for dispatch will allow the Forestry
Commission to better serve the citizens of the state during times of high
wildfire activity by being able to more accurately dispatch and provide better
communications with firefighters.
The Gardendale center will be staffed by
four dispatchers working 10-hour shifts during the day. In the evenings all
communications will roll back to Montgomery, unless fire volume warrants that
the center be open to accommodate the situation.
The Alabama Forestry Commission is the state
agency charged with protecting Alabama’s invaluable forest assets as well as
its citizens. To learn more about the services provided by the agency, contact
any AFC county office or visit the agency
website at www.forestry.alabama.gov