Lee County Emergency Dispatch Center: Fire & Emergency Medical

The Emergency Dispatch Center, also known as "Lee Control," receives calls routed from the dispatch center at your local police or sheriff's office for all of Lee County's Emergency Medical Services, and for most of Lee County's Independent Fire Districts. When the unfortunate occurs, please know that help is just a phone call away.

In October 2012, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) designated Lee County Public Safety Communications a Dual Accredited Center of Excellence (Dual ACE). Lee County is one of only 25 agencies in the world to meet IAED's rigorous accreditation criteria, and to receive this prestigious recognition.

In Case of Emergency, DIAL 9-1-1

Lee Control call takers and dispatchers are certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) and Emergency Fire Dispatcher (EFDs) who work closely with first responders to assure you get the help needed.

Step 1: Gathering Information

When your call is answered at Lee Control, the call taker will ask for...

• Address or location of the emergency. Address and location information is essential to ensure help is sent as quickly as possible, to the correct location, should the call become disconnected or the caller becomes unable to continue speaking.
  
• Phone number the caller is calling from; and will verify address and phone number.
  
• Information about the nature of the problem or emergency. The call taker will ask a specific set of questions based upon the fire or medical emergency being reported.

Lee Control call takers use internationally recognized treatment protocols to care for patients of cardiac arrest, choking and childbirth, as well for incidents involving a wide variety of illness and injuries. These protocols enable a trained EMD to assist the caller in immediately providing care to the patient while waiting for responders to arrive.​ At no time do these questions cause a delay in the response, nor does it cause a delay in obtaining critical information.

Step 2: Dispatching Units

Three Fire/EMS Dispatchers on duty at all times:

• ​One dispatches all Lee County EMS units.
• One dispatches all fire departments ​​and districts in northern Lee County​.
• ​One dispatches all fire departments and districts in southern Lee County.

After Receiving the Request for Help

• Dispatchers determine where the emergency is located within Lee County.  
• Concurrently and if necessary, the EMS and Fire dispatchers determine the closest available units. The type of emergency determines what type and the quantity of fire/EMS units that are dispatched. All fire/EMS apparatus in Lee County are equipped with Automatic Vehicle Locators (AVL). This allows the dispatchers to visually see each unit on a map of Lee County.
• Once it is decided which unit(s) will respond to the emergency, the dispatcher will call them on the radio or set off special alert tones in the station to let the crews know that there is a request for service.
• The firefighter and paramedics then respond to the address or location of the emergency.
   

Our job here at Lee Control isn't complete until the last fire truck or ambulance backs into the firehouse, letting us know that their job is complete. Our call takers and dispatchers take great pride in being able to send the appropriate amount of resources to the correct location to mitigate any type of emergency.