Fire Emergency Support Center
New central dispatch system the backbone of our Fire Protection efforts
Global May 22, 2025 - By
A team of Fire Operators in the Fire Emergency Support Center (FESC) in Dhahran monitor 911 calls, dispatch resources and maintain incident reports in real-time across the FrP network of 56 fire stations.
Safety Heroes
The refurbished response system ensures rapid response times, effective resource allocation, and streamlined communication.
In emergency response, efficiency and accuracy can mean the difference between life and death. For fire departments such as those in Aramco’s Fire Protection (FrP) organization, a new central dispatch system that was established last year and fully operational on Jan. 1 serves as the backbone of FrP operations, ensuring rapid response times, effective resource allocation, and streamlined communication.
This Fire Emergency Support Center (FESC) is manned during three eight-hour shifts, 24-hours a day. The center, on the second floor of the Dhahran Main Fire Station, is critical in coordinating firefighting and rescue response operations across the company’s 56 fire stations Kingdomwide.
This initiative has achieved manpower optimization, with 101 firefighters redeployed to operations and was awarded first place at Aramco’s Safety and Industrial Security Recognition ceremony, presented by Abdullah A. Al Ghamdi, Safety and Industrial Security senior vice president.
The eyes and ears for FrP
In this center lit by the glow of computer monitors and large video displays on the wall, a group of six dispatchers are the eyes and ears for FrP operations. Here they actively monitor all incoming 911 calls in the Aramco network and when an incident requires FrP resources alerts the fire station covering that area through a central alarm system to dispatch the adequate resources for the incident.
“When a 911 call requires an FrP response, I have the ability to scan the available resources in our central database, send a pre-alarm message to the station, and when confirmed sound the alarm that is broadcast over that station’s speakers,” said Khalid A. Almutairi, a fire operator assigned to the FESC. “After I activate the station alarm, I give the first responders a few seconds to get their gear on and begin to leave the station before I make contact with the fire officer over the two-way radio.”
While the incident is ongoing, the fire operator remains in contact with the fire officer on scene via radio and enters the incident details into the Operation Log System until the scene is secured and the FrP resources released. When the incident is over, the shift coordinator sends the draft incident report to the fire commander, who reviews and updates details in the report before it is finalized.
“This system has improved our ability to know what is happening on scene before we arrive,” said Captain Mohammed A. Mutairi. “The dispatchers are gathering information and feeding it to us as we’re en route to the scene, which makes our jobs easier.”
Previously, each station assigned one firefighter per shift to the dispatcher role, this required the firefighter to listen in on every local 911 call in the station’s area of responsibility, and if necessary, sound the alarm and dispatch resources. The fire operator remained in contact with the on-scene fire officer and upon clearing the emergency prepared the final incident report. This process was a time intensive process that took manpower away from response operations. One advantage though was familiarity with that station’s area of responsibility.
“The previous system was labor intensive and required three firefighters per day at each fire station across the company to not be available for operational response,” said Mohammad M. Harbi, Battalion Chief and FESC supervisor. “We can now achieve what previously required more than 125 personnel, with a team of only 24.”
Fire operators assigned to the FESC come from across the entire FrP organization, and while they will have responsibility for areas that they do not have first-hand knowledge of, a robust knowledge transfer and sharing program is in place to provide familiarity with the different areas of responsibility.
“From here, we can manage multiple incidents and dispatch resources as needed,” said Almutairi.
Just this morning, I was handling an incident from Yanbu’, a place I have never been, but with the tools and knowledge shared in this center, we successfully managed to deploy the necessary resources with both effectiveness and efficiency.
— Mohammed A. Mutairi
“The Fire Emergency Support Center has introduced more technology to make the job easier,” said Tareq A. Zahrani, a manager in FrP. “We can access maps that identify critical areas and show us available resources. Without them, we would need to rely on our local knowledge.”
Technology allows the system to expand and enhance response times and resource allocation. Some of FrP’s planned enhancements include the addition of equipment such as tablet computers in each apparatus that allow the fire officer on scene to manage and track the response in real time, giving them the ability to request additional resources as needed.
“The fire operator plays a unique role in the fire service, acting as the shadow of the fire officer. This initiative has significantly enhanced our ability to save lives and protect assets,” said Harbi.
“I like taking calls and coordinating responses from this center; it’s like putting together a puzzle without being there to see the picture. We have to imagine the incident scene in our head and successfully put that puzzle together,” said Almutari. “This is one of the busiest places in all of FrP.”
