Stockton Fire Dept. Delivers Customer Service through Data

How this busy agency supports its neighbors and keeps up with demand with FirstWatch

“The real advantage of FirstWatch,” says Michele Godina Machado, Administrative Analyst II at Stockton (Calif.) Fire Department, “is that I know the numbers are right. We say in this business that if it’s garbage in, then it’s garbage out. FirstWatch allows us to verify the accuracy of our data. So I know with a high level of confidence that when there’s a discrepancy in our reporting, the FirstWatch numbers are correct.”

Having verifiable and reliable numbers is critically important to Stockton Fire, which handles dispatch services not just for the surrounding rural communities but for growing cities such as Tracey as well. To bill accurately for their services, the department relies on FirstWatch data analysis.

“With FirstWatch, we are able to provide the number of calls on each bill, but we also include the date and time, report number, CAD number, jurisdiction, and other details for the recipient to review. … We found that in the past we were usually under-billing for our work, so bringing this transparency to the process has been great for everyone. They can see exactly what they’re getting for their money, and we get to keep the lights on at our dispatch center.”

This is particularly important given just how busy the department is. Located in the Central Valley of California, east of the Bay Area, Stockton has approximately 320,000 residents spread over 65 square miles. It comprises a mix of rural, urban, and suburban communities, including vast tracks of farmland, interstate highways, and critical infrastructure. Despite its modest size, the fire department’s dispatch center dispatched 110,422 responses to 79,715 calls in 2024. For the city alone, it dispatched 60,796 responses to 46,041 calls.

“We’re always very busy,” says Machado.

FirstWatch Saves Time

She explains that before FirstWatch was implemented, cleaning up data for billing and reports was onerous. “I’d spend days trying to clean up our data sets,” she says. “If a number didn’t track, we’d have to chase it down and figure out where the problem was coming from.”

Now this process happens in near real-time. One advantage is that it provides transparency across stations and jurisdictions. “It keeps us all on the same page,” she explains. “Our city government values transparency in what we do, and FirstWatch delivers that. Our stations are spread out but we’re a cohesive department.”

Before FirstWatch, Stockton FD would have analysts pull data from the prior month and then build specific reports based on that data for leadership. “But with FirstWatch we are able to work off current data. If my EMS chief wants a report, I can send a dashboard that provides data, as well as some context, in almost no time. I just change the date range and our heat maps are updated. We’re much more responsive to current conditions this way.”

FirstWatch allows Machado to create custom dashboards, heat maps, and reports instantly. “We’re even talking about buying monitors for each of our fire stations so we can report current FirstWatch data to the field.”

Customer Service

The learning curve in data analysis can be steep. Machado has found FirstWatch customer service to exceed her expectations. “I don’t know very many companies where you can call them and then set speak to someone who will spend the time with you to build your system out with you.

“The support team at FirstWatch didn’t just build our system. They explained why they were doing what they were doing, which allows me to now make changes as needed. I could see the process, how the data was cleaned up by removing outliers and so forth, so that I now have complete trust in our system.”

Advice to Someone New to FirstWatch

Start out slowly, says Machado. “Build one simple dashboard. Build it with someone at FirstWatch so you understand what’s going into the analysis. You need to know your data is correct or the conclusions will be wrong.”

“In the past,” she says, “chiefs would ask for the numbers or a specific number. What FirstWatch allows you to do is provide that easily, but also provide some of the context behind it in visual form.” She adds: “Don’t overcomplicate it!”

As the fire service and dispatch have become more data-driven, Stockton Fire provides an example of how it’s done in a busy, dynamic mid-size city.