911 Dispatcher Alicia Sparks works with Hutchinson Police Thursday in the center located in the basement of the Hutchinson / Reno County Law Enforcement Center.
This week is “National Public Safety Telecommunications Week”, designed to honor those who perform dispatching duties for law enforcement and other emergency services.
We went to the 911 Dispatch Center Thursday where we spent some time with the dispatchers and observed them as they went through their duties. It was pretty quiet while we there, but anyone who listens to the scanner traffic knows that can change quickly.
In Reno County, they now work 8-hour shifts, a change made in January. Prior to that, they were working 12-hour shifts. But now with the positions pretty much filed, 8-hour shifts now run from 7 a-m to 3 p-m, 3p-m to 11 p-m, and 11 p-m till 7 a-m. There are three dispatchers working each shift with a fourth person working as a supervisor.
One dispatcher works exclusively with Hutchinson Police, while another works with the Reno County Sheriff’s Office, South Hutchinson Police, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other smaller police departments in the county. The third one works with Fire Departments in the county as well as Reno County EMS.
These men and women who answer emergency calls are there to dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to citizens of the community.
We talked with Alicia Sparks (shown above) who was working the Hutchinson Police Department console on Thursday. She says they have certain protocols they follow if its a medical emergency. They also decide how many law enforcement to send to a location depending on the call and whether its in progress or not.
As you would expect, it can be a very stressful position and sometimes the calls they get can be hard on them. She says they can go down the hall from the dispatch center and get some counseling if needed.
She says as a rule the console for dispatching Hutchinson Police is the busiest, however the one for the Reno County Sheriff’s Office can also get busy, especially if the weather is bad and it causes a lot of accidents. The Fire and EMS console can also get busy according to Sparks, especially when there are a lot of out of control fires, from such things as control burns.
But, even before they start working on one of the positions, they go through six month’s training through books, then work each console to gain experience on each one, but she says even after that, you switch between the three as a matter of routine.
The week is to show support for the work they do, 24-7, 365-days a year. Officials say when a member of the public or an officer needs help during an emergency, dispatchers become their lifeline, ensuring that the appropriate assistance is contacted and en-route to whatever the situation might be.
The Kansas Highway Patrol had some tips for calling in an emergency or incident:
Stay calm. Take a deep breath and try not to get excited. It’s important that the dispatcher can understand what it is you are saying, so speak clearly and calmly.
Know the location. Whether you are on the highway, or at a residence, you need to know where you are. Get the address or pay attention to highway mile markers and roads you’re near. If you’re calling from a cell phone, not all dispatch centers have the technology to track your location. It will save a great deal of time if you know the actual location of the emergency.
If the dispatcher requests you pause for a moment, do so. They also have to take care of radio traffic, and other emergency services. They could be in the process of dispatching an officer to your emergency, and they need to be able to hear and understand that officer.
Let the call-taker guide the conversation. They are typing the information officers need into a computer. It’s important you are patient so they get all of the information needed and so it is accurate.
Follow all directions. In some cases, the call-taker will give you directions. Listen carefully, follow each step exactly, and ask for clarification if you don’t understand.
Pay attention to surroundings. You may be asked to describe victims, suspects, vehicles, or other parts of the scene. It’s important you mention if a lane of traffic is blocked, or if there is debris in the roadway.
Do not hang up the call until directed to do so by the call-taker.
This week is designed to bring attention to the important work of emergency dispatchers and is sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO), and is celebrated annually.