The Communications Division of the Charlotte Fire Department, also called "Alarm," is a stand-alone 24-hour emergency communications center that is responsible for matching the public's requests with the resources of the Fire Department.
In fiscal year 2015, CFD Telecommunicators answered 177,606 emergency calls - 99.5% of those within 10 seconds. The department then dispatched more than 110,700 calls. Those calls can be related to fire, emergency medical, rescue and other service needs, and these outstanding, professional, highly trained men and women are able to obtain critical information when callers are erratic and under stress during emergency situations.
The Communications Division also provides key support to citizens, firefighters, law enforcement officers and other public-safety workers in the field. Two field communications units and two mobile command units can bring radio technology, computers, cameras, cable TV, hazmat monitoring, video teleconferencing capabilities and more - nearly anywhere they are needed.