National Dispatchers Week: Highlighting the critical work of local 911 dispatchers

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - They are oftentimes the first line of defense in an emergency, yet many people don’t ever see their faces, just hear their voices. This week is National Dispatchers Week, a time to recognize 911 operators for their dedication and resilience in emergency situations.

911 dispatchers are the first line of first responders. While they aren’t out on the streets like firefighters, EMS crews, or police, they are a critical link in the chain when it comes to getting the help you need in an emergency and you will likely never know their names.

In Woodbury County, Iowa, the Communications Center is the centralized hub for all emergency calls. “So all of the calls come to us both emergency and non-emergency. The dispatchers take those calls, and then determine what somebody needs and dispatch those resources, said Wendy Hess, Communications Center Director for Woodbury County.

These teams of 911 dispatchers are your first call in any emergency. “Sometimes it’s the scariest or worst day of their life, and they’ll call here, we’re here to try to get them help as quickly as we can,” said Tracy Ellinger, Communications Supervisor for the Communications Center for Dakota County, Nebraska.

911 Dispatchers play a critical role in emergency response.

“They are the first, first responder, the first interaction with somebody that is having a crisis whether it be a medical emergency, a police emergency, the dispatcher is that first point of contact,” said Hess.

The Woodbury County Communications Center, which takes all emergency calls for Woodbury County EMS, Fire and Law Enforcement, plus North Sioux City South Dakota, handle an average of 50,000 911 calls and 150,000 non-emergency calls annually.

“Of those calls, we take about 20,000 annually results in the dispatch of a high-priority incident,” explained Hess. “So whether a medical call or a police call, that’s high priority, we call those priority one calls where there’s a potential loss of life or property.”

Across the river, the Dakota County Communications Center handles emergencies in that Nebraska county. Ellinger says things can change in an instant during a shift.

“We could go from doing absolutely nothing to one of the biggest events we’ve had all year in a matter of seconds,” she explained.

“We’re the first person that somebody’s going to call in what could be their worst day of their life,” Ellinger said. “We want to try to be there to be the calming voice behind the scenes to make sure that they’re getting help as quickly as possible but also trying to stay as calm as possible.”

911 Dispatchers hear the worst of the worst. and that can take a toll.

“They take a lot of calls that are just really tough emotionally, and they hang up the phone and then answer the next call. And so they don’t really get a break from that.”

Hess says they work together to ensure all voices are heard, and taken care of among the team.

“We do have to deal with a lot of tough calls,” Hess said. “Everybody’s seen in the news some of the incidents that we’ve dealt with over the last year in our community, we have an exceptional relationship with the agencies that we work with,” she said regarding the area police, fire and EMS teams.

The dispatch centers are staffed at all hours of the day and night, with someone ready to step in should someone need a break. “Nobody’s ever here alone,” said Hess. “So there’s a whole team around you, if you need to step away after taking a really tough call, something like that, we can definitely provide somebody the time to do that. I don’t think anybody realizes the emotional toll it can take on somebody. You take calls of telling a parent how to do CPR on their child, somebody that comes in checks on their parents and finds that they’ve passed away, talking to people that maybe are thinking about committing suicide. They take a lot of calls that are just really tough emotionally, and they hang up the phone and then answer the next call.”

“911 is always an appropriate source for emergencies. We’re always here,” said Ellinger. “No question is really a dumb question. If they, you know, we can at least direct somebody in the right direction.”

These communications centers are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, with a team of talented dispatchers ready to help you through any emergency.

“Nobody calls 911 because they’re having a great day,” said Hess, “they’re calling 911 because something extremely stressful, or a crisis is happening in their life, and they need help. And we’re here to provide that.”

The 911 communications center never closes and there is always someone there to answer the phones.

DURING SEVERE WEATHER

In moments of severe weather, like the storms much of Siouxland saw just yesterday, dispatchers are there to field emergency calls through the wind and the rain. When Woodbury County and surrounding areas were put under a tornado warning, and many, like us here at KTIV, were sheltering in place, those in the Communications Center in Woodbury County remained on the line the entire time.

“We used to be housed on the 2nd floor of the Sioux City Police Department and that was always a concern, if a tornado came through Downtown Sioux City, it could potentially displace us,” said Hess. “We are in a secure location down in the basement of a building. We do have backup procedures in place should we need to leave this for some reason, but we’ve never had to do that.”

In Dakota County, the communications center is not located in the basement of the building. But it was designed to remain a safe place to be in the event of severe weather.

”It is a tornado-safe area,” said Ellinger. “It is made with thicker concrete walls, even the door frames are thicker. We have a shield that covers that window over there that we can pull down if necessary. It is a safe room, it is not made for people to congregate, but it is made safe for those that are within it and to keep the equipment safe so hopefully we can still maintain communication regardless of what is going on.”

BECOMING A DISPATCHER

If you think you might have what it takes to be a dispatcher, they are always hiring, but it is not a job for everyone.

“It is a tough job. And we like many other places have struggled just the last couple of years with staffing. We’re training a lot of new people right now,” said Hess for Woodbury County.

And those working the phone lines come from all different backgrounds and skill sets.

“We have people that have worked in the restaurant industry that are really good at managing lots of things at once,” said Hess of just a few of her team members. “So there’s no perfect background, there’s not like a college course of study to go to be a dispatcher, people that have an interest in helping others, and that’s a lot of what we do, and just that thrive in environments where a lot of things are going on at once.”

New dispatchers go through several months of training and job shadowing experienced dispatchers before they begin taking calls on their own, ensuring each individual that is answering the line in an emergency can get you help when you need it.

If you want to find out more about becoming a 911 dispatcher, click here.

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