911 dispatchers recognized during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
Dispatcher Pam Bugbee sits before a bank of high-tech computer monitors. Calmly, she juggles phone calls and radio communications for the Chenango County Sheriff’s Department and a slew of other law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency squads and the like.
But then, a block lights up on her monitor indicating a call on one of Chenango County’s 14 emergency lines. Instantly, 100 percent of her focus is on that line.
“9-1-1. What’s the address of your emergency?” she says, as calmly and coolly as she has fielded countless calls during her 23 years as a public safely dispatcher.
“You never know what the next call’s going to be,” said Daron Schultes, one of Bugbee’s coworkers at the Chenango County Communications Center.
Whatever the situation – fire, motor vehicle accident or medical emergency – dispatchers like Bugbee and Schultes play a crucial role in getting people the help they need. They are more than a voice on the other end of the phone, explained Chief Dispatcher A. Jones; they are the link which connects the person or people in need with the emergency services they require.
Often, the role of the dispatcher is overlooked. But this week Bugbee, Schultes and their colleagues both here in Chenango County and across the country are being honored during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“Every day people depend on the skill, expertise and commitment of the men and women who work in public safety telecommunications,” said Chenango County Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting Jr.
“These individuals help save countless lives by responding to emergency calls, dispatching emergency professionals and equipment and providing moral support to citizens in distress.”
This is the first time Chenango County has celebrated National Telecommunicators Week since it was designated by Congress 1991.
According to Jones, the purpose is to both raise public awareness about the work dispatchers do, and recognize them for their commitment to serving the public.
“They do a tremendous amount of work that not only the general public, but even the agencies they serve, don’t see,” he explained.
The Communications Center is staffed by nine full-time and six part-time dispatchers, two of which are on duty at any given time – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Those individuals are tasked with dispatching not only for the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, but more than 50 other agencies as well. That includes 21 fire departments, 22 EMS agencies, the New York State Police out of Norwich, 6 municipal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Environmental Conservation Police, the Park Police, New York State Forest Rangers and the City of Norwich (overnight only). They also monitor fire alarms on more than 75 buildings, more than 200 subscribers on the Life Line system and take after hours calls for the County Highway Department, Social Services and Public Health.
Last year alone the center’s staff fielded in excess of 110,000 calls.
“On the law enforcement side, our calls were up 14 percent since 2008,” Jones reported. “Our total 911 calls were up 9 percent.”
There is far more to the job than just answering the phone. Each staff member is trained to asses an emergency to make sure the right resources are dispatch. They are also certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch, meaning they are certified to assess medical emergencies over the phone. They can also provide step-by-step instructions over the phone for CPR, bleeding control, choking and even child birth.
It takes a special type of person to handle the position, according to Jones. Many of those who serve as dispatchers are already emergency responders when they first apply. Dispatcher Tom Smith, for example, started out as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Sidney before joining the Communication Center’s staff on a part-time basis in 2008.
Smith admits that the job is a challenging one, and can be stressful.
“It can be emotionally testing at times,” he said, but the challenge and the knowledge that he’s helping others is what makes it rewarding. “It’s a job I’ve enjoyed since the first day I started.”
But then, a block lights up on her monitor indicating a call on one of Chenango County’s 14 emergency lines. Instantly, 100 percent of her focus is on that line.
“9-1-1. What’s the address of your emergency?” she says, as calmly and coolly as she has fielded countless calls during her 23 years as a public safely dispatcher.
“You never know what the next call’s going to be,” said Daron Schultes, one of Bugbee’s coworkers at the Chenango County Communications Center.
Whatever the situation – fire, motor vehicle accident or medical emergency – dispatchers like Bugbee and Schultes play a crucial role in getting people the help they need. They are more than a voice on the other end of the phone, explained Chief Dispatcher A. Jones; they are the link which connects the person or people in need with the emergency services they require.
Often, the role of the dispatcher is overlooked. But this week Bugbee, Schultes and their colleagues both here in Chenango County and across the country are being honored during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“Every day people depend on the skill, expertise and commitment of the men and women who work in public safety telecommunications,” said Chenango County Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting Jr.
“These individuals help save countless lives by responding to emergency calls, dispatching emergency professionals and equipment and providing moral support to citizens in distress.”
This is the first time Chenango County has celebrated National Telecommunicators Week since it was designated by Congress 1991.
According to Jones, the purpose is to both raise public awareness about the work dispatchers do, and recognize them for their commitment to serving the public.
“They do a tremendous amount of work that not only the general public, but even the agencies they serve, don’t see,” he explained.
The Communications Center is staffed by nine full-time and six part-time dispatchers, two of which are on duty at any given time – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Those individuals are tasked with dispatching not only for the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, but more than 50 other agencies as well. That includes 21 fire departments, 22 EMS agencies, the New York State Police out of Norwich, 6 municipal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Environmental Conservation Police, the Park Police, New York State Forest Rangers and the City of Norwich (overnight only). They also monitor fire alarms on more than 75 buildings, more than 200 subscribers on the Life Line system and take after hours calls for the County Highway Department, Social Services and Public Health.
Last year alone the center’s staff fielded in excess of 110,000 calls.
“On the law enforcement side, our calls were up 14 percent since 2008,” Jones reported. “Our total 911 calls were up 9 percent.”
There is far more to the job than just answering the phone. Each staff member is trained to asses an emergency to make sure the right resources are dispatch. They are also certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch, meaning they are certified to assess medical emergencies over the phone. They can also provide step-by-step instructions over the phone for CPR, bleeding control, choking and even child birth.
It takes a special type of person to handle the position, according to Jones. Many of those who serve as dispatchers are already emergency responders when they first apply. Dispatcher Tom Smith, for example, started out as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Sidney before joining the Communication Center’s staff on a part-time basis in 2008.
Smith admits that the job is a challenging one, and can be stressful.
“It can be emotionally testing at times,” he said, but the challenge and the knowledge that he’s helping others is what makes it rewarding. “It’s a job I’ve enjoyed since the first day I started.”
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