Choosing a career is something everyone thinks about from an early age – “What am I going to be when I grow up?”
As a child, “superhero” was always the answer. As one grows it may be a paramedic, firefighter, doctor, police officer or nurse. These are still “hero” status and are always seen in the community helping. There are not many who say they would like a career that consist of sitting in a room and listening to calls of someone’s worst day, calls of negativity, calls of the unknown or the calls of death. However, sometimes this career chooses them. These few are the chosen ones who are able to answer calls over and over hearing similar to the following:
“My daughter is choking! What do I do?” From a mom of a four-year-old.
“Send help, please!” From a caller whispering and crying as the call disconnects.
“Hurry, she isn’t breathing!” From a mother of an adult daughter.
“I can’t find my son!” From a frantic parent that is camping at a new location with family and a three-year-old.
“My mom and dad are fighting.” Says and eight-year-old hiding in the closet so she will not be heard.
“My house is on fire!” Yells the mom of three as her husband is trying to get a child out of the home.
“Can you tell my family I love them, but I cannot take it anymore.” From a fourteen-year-old.
“…has been shot!” Shouts a distraught family member that has just found the victim.
“My grandpa is having a heart attack!” From a 12-year-old spending the summer with grandparents, not knowing the address.
Not to mention the continuous calls of disrespect with expletives and name calling. Endless calls telling a dispatcher how useless they are because the caller did not get the answer or response they wanted. The multiple calls with yelling because the field responders were not there within seconds even though the caller is at least 15 minutes away from any responding agency. These calls may, and have been, the result of someone under the influence of an unknown medication or drug. However, they have also been the result of someone experiencing a medical condition related to diabetes, head trauma or other. No matter the case dispatch will answer each call and assess it as an emergency.
These are all examples of life events, more than one would expect, especially in our small part of the world. They are a shock for anyone to experience, once in a lifetime. A dispatcher may assist with calls like each one of these, all in one shift, and still go on to answer the next call. When a dispatcher answers the call for help, they are right there on scene with the caller, not in the physical sense, but they are listening, talking and visualizing the scene. They are assessing seconds into the call, asking questions, and giving lifesaving instructions. A dispatcher must pay attention to everything happening in the call including clues in the background to ensure safety of everyone, especially the field responders. Sometimes those little sounds can stand between life and death, and sometimes those sounds never leave a dispatcher’s mind.
I often compare a dispatcher’s mental workout to that of a lumber jack. A lumber jack has a physically exhausting career. One can see and watch their body swinging an axe, moving the logs and walking many miles while carrying heavy tools. By the end of their day, it is expected that their body will be tired; “they have put in a hard day’s work,” one would say.
When in dispatch, you cannot see all the work that is happening in a dispatcher’s mind; they are working the greatest muscle (organ) in the body: Their brain. Making upwards of a thousand decisions and thoughts in seconds. They are experiencing the emergency, with the caller, relaying lifesaving information to the caller and field responders. As the call continues, they are on constant alert for the safety of all involved. They do not have just one call or person they must monitor. At any given time, there could be multiple events happening and with each one there are numerous responsibilities. From the time they place the headset on for their shift their brain is on notice, on alert for the call. This is a prime example of mental exhaustion. They hear things that no one should hear and leave each shift mentally and physically tired.
Often there are statements made to a dispatcher by those who do not know any better, such as:
“Why are you so tired? You sit in a chair all day.”
“You’re tired? All you do is talk on the phone.”
“It must be nice to sit inside all day and just talk.”
These statements and more add to the mental workout. When heard, a dispatcher may replay some of the worst they heard that day, over in their mind, or it may trigger a call from years prior to replay. However, due to the confidentiality and respect to the callers, a dispatcher does not have the liberty to tell their family and friends many of the details of their day.
Call after call a dispatcher will answer and work to save life after life, hearing the most heart wrenching sounds. It takes a very special being to be able to hear this, put up a mental divide during the call and do what they do best. They may not have thought at the beginning of their career that their dream, when younger of being a superhero would come true, but I believe that each one that has the capability to sit under the headset and answer each call with a calm voice, has indeed reached superhero status.
Dispatchers are often not seen, but only heard when needed the most, then forgotten about once field responders arrive. Dispatch is involved in every emergency event, often well after the call has been disconnected. There are many that have and continue to support dispatch in various ways, believe me this does not go unnoticed and is appreciated more than you will ever know.
Next month, April 14-20 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The second week of April is designated to celebrate and highlight the unseen heroes with calm voices.
Please join me in honoring them during this time. The smallest of gratitude, even hearing a spoken “thank you” goes a long way to help brighten their day.
The Texas County Emergency Services office in Houston is funded by a 3/8-cent countywide sales tax approved by voters in 2013. Director Terra Culley can be reached by phone at 417-967-5309 or by email at terraculley911@hotmail.com.