Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH
Performance Standards
NFPA 1221 has standards for call answering and call processing. For call answering, the standard is to answer
all emergency lines within 15 seconds, 90% of the time, and 95% of events are to be answered in 20 seconds.”®
For call processing (from time of call answer to fire station notification), events shall be completed in 60
seconds.”? The Center does not track these performance standards.
Center Staffing
The Center has a total of 14 positions—two administrators—a Superintendent and an Assistant
Superintendent and 12 authorized dispatcher positions. The Superintendent reports to the Assistant Chief.
The dispatchers work in four shifts of three telecommunicators. Minimum staffing is three dispatchers. The
dispatchers are represented by IAFF Local #789.Supervisors are scheduled to be added in the new contract
that goes into effect in 2021.
Technical staff work for the City and report to the Information Technology Director. There are two CAD
Administrators/Technicians who are City of Nashua Fire Rescue personnel. These personnel are responsible
for CAD configuration changes. The City has two personnel working on the City of Nashua radio system.
Hiring
The minimum qualification for an entry-level dispatcher is to have previous emergency services experience.
Applicants for a dispatch job must pass screening tests for typing ability, verbal ability, and multitasking.
Applicants also take a basic |O test and a personality assessment. It takes approximately one month from the
job offer to them being in the building ready to start training.
Training
New employees are required to complete an initial two-week training academy that is hosted in house. They
then receive on-the-job training with an on-duty dispatcher. The time it takes to get signed off will vary with
the individual. Each trainee receives daily observation reports to track their progress. The probationary
period is nine months.
Shift Schedules
Minimum staffing is three dispatchers on duty at all times. The dispatchers’ work schedule is a 10-hour day
shift (0800-1800), followed the next day by a 14-hour night shift (1800-0800), then a day off, followed by a
10-hour day shift, then a 14-hour night shift, then three days off. Shifts do not overlap. The busiest hours of
the day are between 1400 hours and 1800 hours. Employees are paid weekly.
Mechanical Division
The Mechanical Division is staffed by a team of three—a Superintendent, an Assistant Superintendent, and
a Mechanic. The Division is responsible for the maintenance and repair of all Nashua Fire Rescue apparatus
and equipment, including:
28 National Fire Protection Association 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and Use of Emergency Services Communications
Systems 2019 Edition, Chapter 7, Section 7.4.1 www.nfpa.org.
29 National Fire Protection Association 1221 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and Use of Emergency Services Communications
Systems 2019 Edition, Chapter 7, Section 7.4.3 www.nfpa.org.
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