Communications Division

Tampa Fire Rescue's 911 dispatch center is staffed with specially trained Emergency Medical Dispatchers. These dispatchers use the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System to quickly gather information and ensure an appropriate response is sent immediately. This system is used to verify the location and call back number of the incident, and then determine the patient's chief complaint, age, status of consciousness, and breathing. If the patient is breathing, approximately thirty seconds of additional questioning is required to complete the initial survey of the situation. The secondary survey is a closer view of the patient's condition to determine the appropriate response to the medical emergency. The questions asked in the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch survey are predetermined in a flip chart format and flow according to the answers obtained.