This week, out of the 52 that make up any given year, has been designated or set aside as the National Public Safety Telecommunications week by the powers that be or the “Great Designators of Weeks” and months. This is the week they state we should express our thanks to the men and women who answer 911, the radio, or the telephone when you find yourself in need of help. I disagree with this; I believe we should express our thanks to them way more frequently than this. I will do my best to briefly explain why I believe this and to clarify I will be referring to them as Dispatchers.
The Dispatchers for the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office are in my humble opinion awesome and as a cop, as well as their supervisor, I am grateful and humbled by what they do.
Are tasked with answering the phone whether it is a regular telephone line or a 911 call and decipher what is being yelled, screamed, whispered, or told to them by a person who is rarely having the best day of their life. Typically, the person has just had or witnessed a terrible experience or is in the process of having one when they call the Sheriff’s Office seeking the help of some sort. They must gather pertinent information about what is happening, where it is happening, as well as who is involved and where they might be at the time, all while listening for clues in the background of the call that might pose a threat to her officer/deputy or other responding. As if this wasn’t going to be hard enough to do, remember that they must also be answering the radio and keeping track of various Deputies, Firemen, medics, what those various units are doing, and where they are doing it, as those responders’ lives depend on that dispatcher keeping track of them.
This description of what they do only touches the surface, but it is enough to make someone realize that a Dispatcher is a very valuable and vital part of the first responder community and someone who should be treated with the utmost respect. They are the lifeline for Deputies in the field as they keep track of where they are, how long they have been there, and relay to them vital information about who they are dealing with. They are the calm voice talking to you when your world is narrowing down due to tunnel vision kicking in, bringing you back a little bit as they ask you questions or relay information.
They are truly the most underrated piece in the First Responder family, they are the first and sometimes the last voice that someone will hear on their worst day. They take the call, they dispatch the units to handle the situation knowing that they are sending their friends, the people who have become family into the unknown. They are striving valiantly to gather as much information as they can in an effort to reduce that unknown, to shine some light on what their friend, their brother, or sister is heading to, and then they must wait and hope that they shined enough light and that the call they just sent their friend on is not “the one.”
They take the calls for help from the victims or the witnesses to a tragic event and like every human their imagination, compassion, and empathy kick in, but they must quiet that voice, put it aside, and remain focused and professional. They do this to gather as much information as they can to ensure that they are sending the help that is needed. Then they take the next call, all while still trying to process and if they can push aside the memory of the screams of “help” and “don’t let my baby die,” even if for just a moment because the job still waits, they have people to help, phones to answer and deputies to track.
The job of Dispatcher is not an easy one and is one that takes a very special person, a person that has the highest level of respect from this Sheriff. I say thank you to my Dispatch Crew knowing that it is not enough, but it is heartfelt and sincere. Thank you for what you do, thank you for being that unsung hero who takes those calls, keeps us safe, and feeds us the information we need to do our jobs, you are truly appreciated.
Comment
Comments