Leadership - Officers:
Administration
Chief Deputy Emergency Communications Thomas Ashe
(2016)
Asst Chief Deputy James Fletcher
Communication Officers
Lieutenant John Drew
Sgt Matt Rossi
Sgt Lisa Havens
Sgt John Ahern
Sgt Aaron Sonnabend
Sgt Josh Alper
Sgt Katie Miller
Sgt Shannon Brookshire
Sgt Alison Whitner
Sgt Zach Hallet
Sgt James Thomas (Training Officer)
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Email Contact
General Info:
Chief Deputy Emergency Communications Thomas Ashe
tashe@bsheriff.net
Phone Directory
-4200 General Business line
-4201 Bourne/Orleans Position
-4202 Call Taker Position
-4203 Harwich/Wellfleet Poition
-4204 County Position
-4205 Brewster/Mashpee Poition
-4206 Dennis/JBCC Position
-4207 CMED Position
-4208 Position 8
-4209 Office
-4210 Admin
-4280 FAX
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Total Personnel: 40
(1) Chief Deputy of Emergency Communications
(1) Asst Chief Deputy
(1) Lieutenant
(9) Dispatch Sergeants
(1) Training Sergeant
(13) Fulltime Dispatchers
(2) Call takers in training (2019)
(12) Part Time (Per Diem) CMED Dispatchers
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Staffing:
The Staffing on Days (0730-1530) and Evenings (1530-2330) is (7)
Dispatchers
1 - County / Police BARNSTABLE
/ WEST BARNSTABLE
2 - Barnstable CMED (usually a part-time employee position)
3 - 911 Call Taker
Dedicated Call Taker
4 - Dispatcher
BOURNE / ORLEANS
5 - Dispatcher
HARWICH / WELLFLEET
6 - Dispatcher
BREWSTER / MASHPEE
7 - Dispatcher
DENNIS / JOINT BASE CAPE COD
The Staffing on Midnights (2330-0730) is (6) Dispatchers
1 - County / Police BARNSTABLE
/ WEST BARNSTABLE
2 - Barnstable CMED (usually a part-time employee position)
3 - Dispatcher
BOURNE / ORLEANS
4 - Dispatcher
HARWICH / WELLFLEET
5 - Dispatcher
BREWSTER / MASHPEE
6 - Dispatcher
DENNIS / JOINT BASE CAPE COD
(The 911 Call Taker position is
unstaffed and shared by all in the room)
There is usually a Sergeant on duty each shift
and they typically rotate around the room working various positions, as
do other dispatchers on a rotating basis.
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Communications Center:
The Barnstable County Emergency Communications Center is
operated by the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department / Barnstable
County Sheriff's Office (BSO). The communication center is located at
the Joint Base Cape Cod Fire Headquarters (formerly Massachusetts
Military Reservation Fire Station) in Bourne.
The communications center overlooks the runways at the base. There are
(8) console positions in the room, each having multiple computer
monitors for Radio controls, E911, CAD, Mapping, and Internet access.
The center went on line in July 11, 2007. Prior to that, the BSO
dispatch center was located in Barnstable village, at the County
Complex, next to the county jail for many year.
The radio room is typically staffed by a
combination of fulltime and part-time personnel. Fulltime personnel are
trained to work any position in the room, while some of the part-time
personnel are trained on specific consoles, but not all.
Each dispatching position is typically
responsible for two assigned primary departments, but is also usually
paired with another nearby console to back each other up, so dispatchers
are listening to at least 4 departments at any given time. The consoles
are arranged in the room in a manner that enables backup and working
together when situations require.
COUNTY
The PRIMARY position is known as "County." The County dispatcher
is responsible for many tasks including answering the main business line
and a variety of other phone lines. This dispatcher listens to the "Fire
Mutual Aid Dispatch" channel and is responsible for all mutual aid
matters including maintaining the apparatus status (in service/out of
service) in the CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch program) and the radio room
wall map, managing all requests for mutual aid, dispatching run card
assignments, making decisions on move-ups, assigning operations "OPS"
channels, and communicating with other countu's mutual aid centers and
the state MEMA (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency) radio system
which coordinates major statewide incidents.
"BARNSTABLE COUNTY CONTROL - KCB 781"
The Mutual Aid Center for Barnstable County. BSO took over the mutual
aid responsibility on November 3, 1991. (Mutual Aid management was
previously the responsibility of the Yarmouth Fire Department, KCD 246 /
KNCS 289). The position conducts the daily radio test, roll call,
apparatus status check, seasonal fire weather report, and a monthly test
of mutual aid tones (on the first Sunday of the month) at approximately
0915 hours daily. Interestingly, while Yarmouth was the former mutual
aid center, the daily radio test was historically conducted by the
Hyannis Fire Department - KCD 454, until the mutual aid center went to
BSO in 1991.
"BARNSTABLE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT - KCA 376"
The "County" position also handles sheriff's department and other
police communications, including General Broad Casts (GBCs) with all
agencies and General Information (GIs) broadcasts. K-9 responses,
Barnstable County Investigators (BCI) responses, and much more.
At one time, BSO was one of the only police
agencies in the County that had the NCIC and RMV computer system
Teletype machine and then computer. At one time, departments relied on
BSO to run license plates, background checks, criminal history records,
and other services that no other agency could do. Much of this
work can now be done from cruisers on the street, but not long ago it
was a major service provided by BSO.
BARNSTABLE FIRE / WEST BARNSTABLE FIRE
ALARM
The "County" position has historically always dispatched the first two
fire departments dispatched by the Sheriff's Department BARNSTABLE FIRE
/ WEST BARNSTABLE FIRE which have been dispatched by BSO since the very
early days of the radio room in Barnstable village going back to the
1930s and 1940s.
The "County" position is located next to, and
backs up two other console positions as needed:
- BOURNE FIRE / ORLEANS FIRE
- HARWICH FIRE / WELLFLEET FIRE
BARNSTABLE CMED - KAG 416
The "CMED" position is the second oldest position in the room, dating
back to the mid 1970s when Cape Cod became the first area in
Massachusetts to implement Advanced Life Support (ALS) provided by
Paramedics. At the time, it was vital that paramedics be in direct
contact with doctors and nurses at the local hospital within the Cape &
Islands EMS System (Cape Cod Hospital Hyannis, Falmouth Hospital, Tobey
Hospital Wareham, and Vineyard Hospital on Martha's Vineyard). A complex
UHF "duplex" radio system with repeater sites, a few radio "patch"
channels, phone circuits, and hospital base stations was tied together
by the CMED operator (dispatcher) based on the "priority" (1=Life
Threatening, 2=Potential life threat, or 3=minor) of patients.
While much has changed relative to ALS
protocols and communications technology, the system continues to operate
much as it has for over 40 years. The position is staffed by the group
of part-time personnel, but may be monitored by any other position in
the room if necessary.
BOURNE / ORLEANS
One of the first of the "new" fire departments that joined the BSO while
still in Barnstable village was the Bourne Fire Department in 1996. This
was a significant change for BSO which led to the much more fire based
communications center of today. Orleans FD was the third "new"
department, coming on board about 2001. The BOURNE/ORLEANS position
backs up to the COUNTY position and serves as the "wing man" for that
position.
BREWSTER / MASHPEE
The Mashpee Fire Department was the second "new" Fire Department to come
to BSO in 1998 while still in Barnstable village. Brewster Fire
Department joined BSO on April 10, 2005.
DENNIS / JOINT BASE CAPE COD
Upon moving into the Mass Military Reservation (Otis) Fire Station on
July 11, 2007, BSO assumed dispatching for "MMR" at that time (now Joint
Base). Dennis Fire came along in 2009.
HARWICH / WELLFLEET
The latest departments to join BSO were Wellfleet Fire in 2012 and
Harwich Fire in 2013.
This position is also close to COUNTY and is backed up by County.
The position is also next to the 911 Call Taker position and provides
support for that position.
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On The Radio:
The Barnstable County Emergency Communications Center operates
many radio channels and frequencies for the various services and
agencies it provides.
Historically, the Barnstable County Fire
Network utilized 33.70 Mhz for all mutual aid communications. In about
1998, the Massachusetts State Police 800 Mhz Trunking System was adopted
for use by all the Cape Cod Fire Departments and most of the Police
Departments. The system is complex to explain, but essentially every
agency has its own "Talk Group" (or channel for simplicity) that they
operate on. Listed here as TG and the assigned number (that can be
used when programming a scanner). Additionally there are a number
of regional "OPS" channels and shared channels that may be assigned by
BSO when needed.
Police departments historically utilized High
Band channels in the 155 Mhz range. Today, many are on the 800 trunking
system and some utilize conventional 800 Mhz channels.
Call Signs were historically used by all fire
and police departments as Identifiers. During the 1990s, the use
of Department names on the radio became more common. Call signs
are sometimes used, but not generally during dispatch of calls.
KCA 376 - TG 38800 - POLICE -
Barnstable Sheriff's Dept Ch. 1 GBC, GI
- TG 38736 - POLICE - Barnstable Sheriff's Dept BCI, K9
KCB 781 - TG 38032
- FIRE - Barnstable County Control Mutual Aid Channel (1994)
- TG 28064 - OPS 1 (C4) - Operations Channel 1
- TG 37968 - OPS 2 (C6) - Operations Channel 2
- TG 38000 - OPS 3 (C8) - Operations Channel 3
- TG 37936 - FD ADMIN - Fire Administration Use
- TG 37392 - FD EMS - May be
used for EMS Incidents
KCB 781 - TG 37264 - BARNSTABLE FIRE
Dispatch
(Original) 1
KNAW 393 - TG 37296 - BOURNE FIRE Dispatch
(1996) 3
WQON 307 - TG 37328 - BREWSTER FIRE Dispatch
(2005) 6
WQGK 516 - TG 37488 - DENNIS FIRE Dispatch
(2009) 8
WQMA 607 - TG 37884 - HARWICH FIRE Dispatch
(2013) 10
"Joint Base" - TG 37904 - JOINT BASE CAPE COD FD Dispatch
(2007) 7
KCF 574 - TG 37648 - MASHPEE FIRE
Dispatch
(1998) 4
WQOP 426 - TG 37680 - ORLEANS FIRE Dispatch
(2001) 5
WQBB 922 - TG 37808 - WELLFLEET FIRE Dispatch
(2012) 9
WQDR 782 - TG 37840 - WEST BARNSTABLE FIRE Dispatch
(Original) 2
KAG 419
BARNSTABLE CMED
- 463.0250 - Barnstable CMED Ch 2 narrow (Patch)
- 463.0500 - Barnstable CMED Ch 3 narrow (Patch)
- 463.0750 - Barnstable CMED Ch 4 CALLING
- 463.1500 - Barnstable CMED Ch 7 narrow (Patch)
- 463.1875 - Barnstable CMED Ch 8 - 2 (Patch)
KCB 739 -
- BSO on the Cape Cod National Seashore Channel
MORE
Many fire departments still either
utilize their low band 33 Mhz radio frequency or newer 400 mhz
frequencies to "simulcast" the 800 mhz "Talk Group" which enables
personnel to wear traditional pagers or smaller radios for recall
purposes. Some operate two way capability.
Barnstable County and Plymouth County also have
the ability to "patch" radio Ops channels together when units from one
county are operating in the other. This is done at the County
Control centers.
Barnstable County had initially served as the
Massachusetts District 1 (SE Mass) Regional Hazardous Materials Dispatch
Center from the early 1990s until about 2010 when that role was
transferred to the Norfolk County Control Center.
Barnstable County Sheriff's Department also has
a mobile Communications / Command Post vehicle known as S-39. It
is located at the JBCC HQ as well. It is available for pre-planned
major events including fireworks and other large scale public events.
It may also be called to police or fire scenes to provide support for
regional agencies.
E911
E911 on Cape Cod began in 1994 with some lower Cape Departments
(Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown). In 1995, BSO
became a PSAP for a number of communities (Falmouth, Mashpee, Chatham)
and a Secondary for (Bourne, Barnstable, West Barnstable, Brewster). At
various points, additional PSAP and Secondary 911 responsibilities came
to BSO. BSO is also the Backup for Dukes County (Martha's
Vineyard).
The "NEXTGEN 911" technology went into effect
in 2017-18. The technology enables Barnstable Sheriff's Office and other
local PSAPs to receive "Wireless 911" calls within their area directly.
Previously, those calls went first to the State Police, then to the
local PSAP, and sometime then on to the local Secondary before
dispatched. It was inefficient and frustrating for callers who
sometime had to repeat information multiple times. This increased the
volume of duplicate 911 calls that come in to the agency, many of which
were previously screened out by the MSP.
BSO IS PSAP FOR
FALMOUTH - Fire and Police
MASHPEE - Fire and Police
BREWSTER - Fire and Police
HARWICH - Fire and Police
CHATHAM - Fire and Police
ORLEANS - Fire and Police
WELLFLEET - Fire and Police
BSO IS SECONDARY FOR
BOURNE Fire
BARNSTABLE Fire
WEST BARNSTABLE Fire
DENNIS Fire
BSO IS BACKUP PSAP FOR
BARNSTABLE Police Department
DUKES COUNTY - Fire and Police
NANTUCKET - Fire and Police
BARNSTABLE Police is Backup for BSO
Updated April 11, 2019
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