Special to Iredell Free News

Most people will only dial 911 once or twice in our lifetime. When that day comes, every second counts.

Mooresville Fire-Rescue has integrated Auto Vehicle Locator (AVL) in conjunction with Computer-Aided Dispatch to ensure the closest firefighters and EMTs respond to every emergency.

MFR maintains performance standards consistent with the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s benchmarks for career fire departments. The fire department strives to send the closest fire unit available to the call for service. MFR strives to place a fire truck at your door in less than five minutes, 85 percent of the time. Units are required to respond with wheels moving within 60 seconds from the time of alarm during the day and 90 seconds during the night.

Prior to deploying the Computer-Aided Dispatch system, five fire stations were used to select the unit to respond based off of the Town of Mooresville’s pre-determined districts. These districts are static in nature. However, MFR units are moving around town throughout the day, often returning from a call, out conducting training, completing building inspections or completing their physical fitness for the shift.

With AVL in place, the Computer-Aided Dispatch system will select the closest fire truck to respond based off GPS units on each apparatus. This will ensure the closest available fire truck is responding to every emergency. This has proven to reduce response time already, and in many cases, by more than 60 to 120 seconds.