Emergency dispatchers: Unseen, but not unheard

When a 911 call is placed, the odds are good that it is one of the most — if not the most — traumatic days of the caller's life. It is a reality that is not lost on the person on the other end of the phone in the dispatch room, who may be dealing with a caller who is just a little worked up, or who is yelling and screaming. The crucial role that dispatchers play in law enforcement is celebrated every year during the second week of April, which is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. "Dispatch is the first contact the public makes to us in a time of need," said Lt. Mark Price with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office. "It is very important for the dispatchers to take the call and articulate what they are getting, document it, then proceed with dispatching the correct service — fire, EMS, police or all three — the call warrants." The information the dispatcher takes down becomes the information the first responders are seeing live in their mobile data terminals, or MDTs. Price said the information is invaluable to the responders as they determine the type of call they are responding to. "The dispatcher taking the call and getting the information the first responder needs is a big part of the success of the response," said Beth Crusa, dispatch supervisor for the Findlay Police Department. Prior to her supervisor role, Crusa served as a dispatcher from 1996 to 2019. She said the job of a dispatcher has changed significantly since she joined the police department. When she first started, for example, a dispatcher would be looking at two screens, and did not take 911 emergency phone calls. Today, a dispatcher can have up to eight screens with no fewer than four program windows up at a time, trying to document calls, check maps and track first responder movements. 'From zero to 100' The multitasking a dispatcher does is essential to the job. "You come in to work every day and you are not sure what you are going to get into, and it's never the same incident happening twice," said Jace Blankenship, a dispatcher with the Hancock County Sheriff's Office. Blankenship is one of 10 dispatchers working for the sheriff's office. The Findlay Police Department also has 10 dispatchers on staff. Both offices have a minimum of two dispatchers working at once, and dispatchers are staffed around the clock. A dispatcher can be juggling several things at the same time. They can be answering a 911 call while being on the radio with an officer at a traffic stop. At the same time, they must be able to phrase the information from the 911 call and relay accurate information to the officer about a vehicle or when backup is available. "(The dispatch) room can go from zero to 100 in a matter of seconds," said Crusa. 'Like voices in the dark' There is an infinite number of things a first responder might ask of a dispatcher while out in the field. A firefighter, for instance, might get to a scene and ask dispatch to contact Columbia Gas or AEP Ohio to stop gas or power to the house. "Whether it's officers or firefighters out in the field needing assistance of any sort — a phone call or someone contacted or a piece of additional equipment — dispatchers are the ones who coordinate it," said Findlay Chief of Police Robert Ring. Dispatchers are certified through both the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APOC) and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). The training gives the dispatcher the skills to handle a wide range of situations in the time between when a call is placed and a responder arrives at the scene. Crusa said it is difficult at times, because the dispatcher is not physically present at the scene. "It's very important, the information the dispatchers are obtaining from a person to dispatch the appropriate people. All of this while they are documenting all of the information they are getting," said Price. Josh Eberle, fire chief for the Findlay Fire Department, said the job of a dispatcher never goes underappreciated, as "they are a part of this first responder team." But at the same time, the lack of visibility to the outside public can make it appear like no job is being done at all. "We are like voices in the dark. Nobody sees us, but everybody hears us," said Blankenship. Bean: 419-427-8420