Fire Telecommunicator

Overview

Comprehensive written information in work-related documents.

Department:
Fire Department Emergency Communications

Salary: $24.00 - $29.81 Commensurate with Experience

Opening Date:
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Closing Date:
Thursday, February 12, 2026

Receives and transmits telephone and radio emergency class for fire and emergency medical incidents and coordinating response with other City/County emergency service and/or non–emergency organizations.

• A Telecommunicator receives incoming routine and emergency calls, dispatches, and maintains contact with all operational units. Work involves detailed record keeping, data entry, and acute listening skills. Responsibilities include frequent public contact requiring tact, firmness, and decisiveness, the ability to obtain important information from callers who are under extreme stress, and the skill to choose the appropriate course of action. Work is performed in conjunction with departmental policy as well as state, federal, and FCC regulations.
• Process emergency and non-emergency calls from the public, dispatch appropriate Charlotte Fire Department apparatus, and monitor and respond to emergency and non-emergency radio traffic. Work involves monitoring multiple calls with different agencies, apparatus, and personnel.
• Candidates MUST be able to work any assigned shift, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Successful candidates will be assigned to either day shift (6:30 am to 6:30 pm) or night shift (6:30 pm to 6:30 am). Schedules may be modified, and on call and overtime work is required.

• All newly hired Fire Telecommunicators will go through a training program of approximately 20 weeks. This includes 8 weeks at the Fire Training Academy and approximately 12 weeks of on-the-job training in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC). Telecommunicator recruits must meet all standards established by the department, including but not limited to:
• Successful completion of all academic portions of recruit training.
• Certification as an APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator.
• Certification as an APCO Fire Service Telecommunicator.
• Adherence to all standards, rules, guidelines, and requirements as established by department General Orders and by Training Staff expectations.

• Knowledge of the operations of an electronic radio and telecommunications system and related Federal Communications Commission regulations.
• Ability to assess people and situations, to apply sound judgment, to remain calm under stressful conditions and to elicit sufficient and essential information for dispatching and assisting field personnel in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ability to work simultaneously on different calls with different agencies and staff.
• Ability to speak clearly and distinctly.
• Ability to maintain accurate and complete work activity records and files.
• Knowledge of the Charlotte area road system and geography.
• Ability to work in a team setting.
• Ability to obtain and maintain minimum training standards and certifications. This includes an initial training period and continuing education.

Positions in this class typically require grasping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.

• Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical conditions necessary for sitting, and standing for extended periods of time.
• Light to moderate lifting and carrying; some crouching, stooping, squatting, crawling, reaching, pushing, and pulling when performing tasks.
• Adequate vision, hearing, and speech required.

• Concentrated and attentive use of one or more senses (visual, audio, and other sensory modalities) for proofreading, data entry, and tabulating data.
• Ability to operate in an environment with frequent interruptions from people and/or noises, which in return could result in some level of stress, fatigue, or strain.
• Comprehensive written information in work-related documents.
• Ability to hear, understand, and distinguish speech.

Work is performed in an indoor environment with moderate exposure to…