Sadly, it too often takes a crisis – be it 9/11 or
a local catastrophe – to cause Americans to really celebrate the value that
first responders bring to society.
We’ve seen that admiration in spades of late as impromptu
parades, homemade yard signs, and press briefing commentaries by county, state,
and federal executives have shined the spotlight on police, firefighters and
ambulance crews for dealing with what the coronavirus crisis has thrown at them
and our communities.
Even so, almost every one of us is guilty of, at
one point – and, for some folks, always -- overlooking one subset of first
responders who also deserve accolades, those who are actually the first of the responders
– the dispatchers. Dispatchers are special public servants
who are, in a way, the first on the scene. They may not be responding to the
scene itself but they are responding directly to the people involved – those
who need saving and those doing the saving.
The amount of stress placed upon
dispatchers is considerable as are the skills and abilities they need to
navigate their duties. Just ponder the following possible chain of events that
happen once a call comes in to the 911 center.
The communicator has to calm the
harried caller, be it a victim of domestic violence, a witness to an accident,
or someone tending to a loved one who has taken ill.
Then, the dispatch team has to
figure out the appropriate response – who, what, why, where and how. This gets
tricky sometimes if the team has to use multiple forms of cellular and
satellite technology to triangulate calls and ascertain location and the unique
obstacles it may pose.
That team then calls out the
appropriate police force and fire/EMS personnel, all while giving them the
proper details and setting the table for them so they know exactly what they
are heading into so they can be mentally and physically prepared and, above
all, safe.
The dispatcher on the phone must
often educate and help a stressed caller handle the event they are in, whether
it’s leaving a danger zone, hiding from an attacker or doing critical first aid
like administering CPR or the Heimlich maneuver or stopping a deadly bleed.
The individual at radio control
must help coordinate and monitor all communications of the various agencies and
departments on scene and determine if more help is needed and call for that
accordingly.
That’s just the tip of the
iceberg; there’s so much more that needs doing. There’s a lot going on with
just one call to 911.
Obviously, our multitasking dispatchers
have to wear many hats – communicator, coordinator, and counselor. All of those
tasks have to be handled with immediacy – every second matters with emergency
calls – and with preternatural calm so the callers aren’t put into further
distress and the other first responders can be directed and can direct with
confidence.
It really takes a special person
to be a dispatcher.
As someone who religiously listens
to Niagara County dispatch I can attest to their professionalism, expertise and
genuine humanity. We’re blessed to have them serving the citizens and their
brothers and sisters in the public safety world.
This week, by regular practice
and not because of the Covid-19 crisis, is National Public Safety
Telecommunicators Week during which the workers of dispatcher centers are
recognized for doing what they do. Most often, a Sheriff’s Office or a Police
Commissioner’s office will hold a small ceremony or post something on their
social media extolling the virtues of their dispatchers.
The dispatchers deserve a tip of
the hat from us, too.
If they’ve ever been there for
you maybe you could drop a kindly letter in the mail explaining how they helped
you through an emergency. Or, maybe the next time you find yourself calling
911, you could end the call with a simple “thank you”.
Those are two words they don’t
hear enough.
From the 13 April 2020 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily
News
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