A committee, chaired by Spencerport Fire Chief Chris Wood, is on a fact-finding mission to determine how the department can better get the job done. Specifically, the committee is looking at the "horrific" amount of paper work required by state mandates, Wood said, and dispatching operations.

Department officers, volunteers who put in many hours each month recruiting, training, planning drills and responding to calls, are also saddled by OSHA paperwork that has become oppressive, Wood said. One idea being considered by the committee is to hire someone full or part-time to fill out the state paperwork.

The committee has also sent letters to neighboring fire districts that provide their own dispatching operations – Brockport, Chili, Gates, Greece Ridge and North Greece – to find out if they are capable and interested in providing dispatch service to Spencerport. The Spencerport Fire Department also serves the town of Ogden and part of Parma.

Currently, the Monroe County 911 system dispatches Spencerport’s emergency calls. The problem, Wood said, is that one firefighter must remain at headquarters to stay on the line with 911 during the entire call. "It takes one person out of fire fighting," Wood said, adding that taking one firefighter out of the line during the day time when the volunteer department is short of hands, can be critical.

If one of the neighboring departments takes over Spencerport’s dispatching, Wood said, the dispatcher could remain in contact with firefighters over their radios in the field, possibly. Radio reception would have to be tested before Spencerport would contract with a neighbor to provide dispatch service. "We have to have a reliable communication set-up," Wood said, "so the firefighters in the field can make requests for help and be understood."

Of course, cost will be a major factor in determining what steps the department will take. If the cost of contracting dispatch service is high, it might be more feasible to hire a daytime dispatcher for Spencerport, someone who would also take care of the paperwork, Wood said.

It may be several months before a decision is made.