Venice Control Center before consolidation with the sheriff’s office. That’s evident by the civilian attire instead of a green and white sheriff’s uniform.
	Sheriff's office dispatch position. The sheriff’s office and the county fire department use a Motorola 800MHz digital trunked radio system.
	A 9•1•1 call-taking position Long term planning envisions all call-takers being EMD certified. This goal was a long way off when I left. 9•1•1 operators would process law enforcement calls but transfer fire and medical calls to one of the 5 fire dispatchers for processing.
	The 5 fire dispatch positions dispatch 32 fire stations, some 39 engines, 7 ladder trucks, and 25 rescues (local terminology for an A.L.S. ambulance). Each agency also has reserve apparatus and assorted auxiliary equipment such as 3 HAZMAT trucks, brush trucks, and tankers.

 

This is the channel one dispatch position for the City of Sarasota Police Department. The window just barely visible over the top of the dispatcher’s head is the only window in the entire center that opens to the outside. The issue of whether the center would have windows was much discussed during the planning stage. All the dispatchers wanted windows. Windows were promised. We got one which pretty much is visible only from the police dispatcher’s console.