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Dispatchers hear the bad news first
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By WENDY MITCHELL Staff Writer
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It is 3:30 a.m., the phone rings and it will be bad news.
It usually is at that hour of the morning, say emergency dispatchers.
Emergency tones are signalled and the necessary personnel are sent to the scene.
It may be a house is on fire, a multi-vehicle accident, a medical emergency or some kind of danger.
In recent weeks area emergency personnel have responded to a multitude of these incidents.
Communities across the area expect there will be a voice at the end of the phone line that can help them.
They are right.
The voice at the end of the line may be called a dispatcher, communications officer or a telecommunications professional. Their purpose and goal is to help provide safety to the public.
Communications is the first link in the chain of emergency response, says the training manual for EMT-First responders.
April 10-16 has been designated National Public Safety Telecommunications week by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International.
"When we hear of the horrific events our telecommunications face on a daily basis, we are reminded that the importance of recognizing and celebrating the hard work of these dedicated professionals t every level is immeasurable," said APCO president Greg Ballentine in an April 4, 2005 press release.
"I'm part of a team, without them I am nothing," said Mason County dispatcher David Mefford.
Dealing with stress is always at the forefront of a dispatcher's life.
"When it's been a particularly bad day I go home and whack the tar out of a bunch of golf balls," said Mefford. "I have a net set up in the back yard just for it."
Dispatch coordinator for Bracken County EMS has seen what stress from constant exposure to serious incidents can have on his staff.
"After a string of bad accidents, I had one dispatcher come to me and resign. It takes a lot out of you to hear all these bad things every day," said Mains. "It was good that they were able to identify their own limits."
In a community the size of Bracken County the familiarity with victims can amplify the effect on the dispatchers.
"We have all worked an incident where someone we know is severely injured or died," said Mains.
"National recognition week may seem like a small thing but it means a lot to the dispatchers."
From Dry Ridge, 911 dispatcher Don Weckbach may not know the victims in Robertson County but the results are the same, someone needed help and he was able to get it to them.
"I have been at this job for so long I just go home to my dogs and try to relax. People all deal with things in their own way," said Weckbach, "I wouldn't trade this job for the world."
"The weather has gotten nicer so I go out and mow the grass or work in the yard to relieve stress," said Fleming county dispatcher Charlotte Benton. "I've been doing this for 21 years, there are always incidents that you hate to see happen."
Prior emergency experience is one reason Adams County Dispatch director Donnie Swayne thinks his dispatch team deals well with stress.
"Most of our dispatchers are also fire department and EMS people, they have a lot of experience dealing with whatever comes along," said Swayne.
Army National Guard member Mike Justice credits his military background with keeping him going when the going gets tough.
"I thrive on stress. That's just the way I am," said Justice, dispatcher for Lewis County.
Loud music relieves the stress for some dispatchers in Brown County, Ohio.
"Sometimes I just go for a drive (after work) and crank up the music real loud," said Andrea Snider.
Whether it is golf ball abuse, loud music, or revenge of the lawn mower, all of the dispatchers interviewed echoed the sentiment that they loved their jobs and came back to work every day because they knew they would be needed to help somebody else.
Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 606-564-9091, ext. 370. |
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