Friday, March 13, 2026

Verdugo Dispatch Center To Receive $1.3 Million Federal Upgrade

By EDDIE RIVERA

US Congresswoman Laura Friedman (center right) poses with Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, and Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin, along with Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian and Glendale Fire Department officials after announcing a $1.3 million grant to upgrade the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, which coordinates 13 cities across the San Gabriel Valley.

Pasadena and regional fire agencies to benefit from federal investment in emergency communications

A regional emergency dispatch center in Glendale which plays a key role in coordinating fire and emergency medical responses for Pasadena and a dozen neighboring cities will receive a major technology upgrade following the announcement Thursday of a new $1.3 million federal grant, secured by U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman.

Speaking at a press conference at the Oak Street fire station in Glendale, where the Dispatch center is housed, Friedman announced the $1,031,000 federal investment to modernize the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, a centralized system that coordinates emergency response across 13 cities in Los Angeles County, including Pasadena.

“The Verdugo Fire Communication Center is the nerve center for emergency response across 31 cities in L.A. County,” Friedman said. “Today I’m announcing a major federal investment to bring this center into the 21st century while making life more affordable for the people of Los Angeles.”

The center serves more than 944,000 residents across a 150-square-mile region and coordinates response for 140 frontline emergency vehicles across 49 fire stations. Dispatchers handle fire and medical communications for communities including Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia and West Covina, as well as fire resources for Hollywood Burbank Airport.

Pasadena officials said the regional dispatch system is a critical part of the city’s emergency response infrastructure, allowing departments to share resources and coordinate responses during large-scale incidents.

“This is yet another example of Pasadena working with its neighboring cities to ensure that we provide the best possible services to all of our residents,” said Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo. “We are a small city, but we do a great job of force multiplying by establishing and maintaining good relationships with neighboring cities.”

Demand on the system has grown sharply in recent years. According to Friedman, dispatch incidents rose from 80,000 in 2021 to more than 101,000 in 2025, a 28 percent increase in four years. Last year, dispatchers answered more than 162,000 calls — about 444 calls a day.

Despite the growing workload, the facility’s technology has not been upgraded since 1997.

“This center has not had a technological upgrade since 1997,” Friedman said. “Some of the firefighters that work here weren’t even born 30 years ago.”

The new federal funding will support a modern computer-aided dispatch system, upgraded dispatcher consoles, expanded network capacity and next-generation 911 integration, including text-to-911 capability and digital alerts.

Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian said the regional dispatch system ensures calls are handled efficiently across city boundaries.

“All the calls from these 13 cities come to the center and the dispatch goes out across city lines,” Najarian said. “This million dollars, which will go toward the computer-aided dispatch, is going to be invaluable to keeping our residents safe.”

Fire officials said the dispatch center is especially critical during major emergencies, including the wildfires which strained response systems in recent years.

Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the upgrades will help ensure the system keeps pace with rising call volumes and increasingly complex emergencies.

“In today’s economic uncertainty, nobody has a million dollars to do technology upgrades,” Augustin said. “The longer we wait to do these upgrades, the more expensive it’s going to be and the farther we’re going to be behind on leveraging technology to get fire and EMS resources out to our community.”

Friedman said the federal investment will ease pressure on local budgets while strengthening emergency preparedness across the region.

“This is a federal investment reducing the burden on taxpayers in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena and every city that Verdugo serves,” Friedman said. “When our neighbors call for help, we need to make sure the response gets out right away.”