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GlossaryDispatch and call records

Canceled call

A canceled call records that a request or response assignment was stopped. Learn why unit cancellation differs from canceling an entire incident or finding no emergency.

A canceled call is a dispatch record showing that a request or response assignment was stopped before its expected completion. The record must identify what was canceled: the entire request, one agency's response, or one assigned unit. A cancellation label alone does not explain the reason or establish that the original concern was unfounded.

What was stopped?

Cancellation can occur before assignment, during travel, or after another resource has already addressed the need. These are different operational situations. If a second unit is released while the first continues, the incident remains active even though one resource's response was canceled.

Henrico County's CAD documentation lists “Cancel” as a disposition separate from “Void,” “Preempt,” and “Unable to Locate.” That separation is a useful reminder that apparently similar endings have distinct local meanings. The labels should not be merged without the source's definitions. Henrico County disposition reference

A cancellation can remain part of the response history. It may therefore count in dispatched workload while being excluded from a measure requiring an actual arrival. The applicable dataset methodology determines that treatment.

Example

Hypothetical example: Two fire units are assigned to a reported outdoor smoke condition. The first arrives and determines that a small, controlled source needs no additional crew. The second unit is canceled while traveling and becomes available for another assignment.

The second unit did not arrive. The event still received an on-scene assessment by the first unit. Describing the whole incident as “no response” would erase that work, while inventing an arrival time for the second unit would distort travel-time analysis.

Common confusion

Canceled does not necessarily mean false alarm, unfounded, or no action required. Those labels describe different findings or handling outcomes. A caller's request to cancel also does not, by itself, show how the agency evaluated the situation afterward.

A preempted assignment can mean a resource was redirected under local rules; it should not automatically be treated as a canceled incident. Check the codebook before combining categories.

Using cancellation records in analysis

Confirm whether the cancellation applies to the incident or a resource. Review assignment, cancellation, and arrival timestamps together. Historical USFA guidance identifies a specific data-quality problem: a canceled resource's clear time can be mistakenly placed in an arrival field. The general lesson is to verify the milestone, rather than assume every populated arrival field represents attendance. USFA CAD integration guidance

Sources