When we see firetrucks or emergency vehicles dashing down the road with sirens blaring and lights flashing, chances are that the men and women in those vehicles are on their way to help someone in distress. But an important group of people who aren’t on those trucks are vital team members – they are the 911 telecommunicators, stationed in front of computers and phones to receive and dispatch calls.
A team of Vance County dispatchers were recognized Monday during the county commissioners’ meeting for their life-saving role during a housefire earlier this year.
Emergency Services Director Brian Short presented Meritorious Service Awards to the dispatchers, who, on March 27, were able to stay on the line and help the victim – trapped in the burning home – find her way to a safer part of the house until firefighters could arrive.
Short and Vance County Fire Chief Chris Wright spoke with John C. Rose during Wednesday’s Town Talk and offered praise and appreciation for the 911 dispatchers and the role they play in emergency services.
“We’ve got the best technology, we’ve got the best things money can buy to do our jobs, but all that is completely worthless without the people that actually do the job,” Short said.
The county’s dispatchers have completed emergency fire dispatch certification that equips them with a checklist of tools, suggestions and advice to help those who call 911 with an emergency.
“They gave this lady life-saving instructions,” Short said, adding that the situation was a perfect example of everybody working together and doing their best, which resulted in saving the woman’s life.
Seconds can seem like minutes when you’re in distress, and that also holds true when you’re a dispatcher receiving a call from someone in distress. Short said it was bound to be gut-wrenching for dispatchers to keep a victim focused while providing those step-by-step instructions that prolong safety until help arrives.
Those instructions and prompts, Wright said, are critical components. “It gives them an extra few minutes,” he said, “that could mean a life-changing experience for them.”
In this case, “the whole front end of the house was on fire,” Wright recalled. Dispatchers were able to get the woman to the back part of the house while firetrucks were en route. The front entry had a vaulted ceiling, which meant that the fire went up before spreading to the back of the house.
“That open floor plan and vaulted ceiling played a role in the fire behavior,” Wright said, allowing the woman to seek safety at the rear of the home.
But it was 911 dispatchers who started the process and then helped put the plan in place, all of which helps emergency responders on the scene. “The advice they were able to give her gave first responders the extra time that was needed to go in and make the save,” Wright said.
“Of course, they were overjoyed to receive the award, and to see that they were being appreciated,” Short said of the Monday recognition before the county commissioners. But in reality, dispatchers have to be able to pivot flawlessly from one call to the next.
“We do our very best with every call we take and then try to move on to the next one.”
The county reviews all multi-agency calls as a matter of course, and the March 27 housefire was no exception. In addition to ensuring that all agencies performed their duties in a satisfactory manner, Short said a review also can help determine if grief counseling is needed. “They’re not machines, they’re human beings,” he added. We have to be aware of their mental health, too.”
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