Shall We Begin?

"Well, if you don't have anymore questions, do you want the job?"

I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time. Nine months into the job, I know I made the right choice. It's the idea of the adrenaline rush when you hear yelling and screaming through the headset, or the thought that a vehicle that came back stolen might take off and you could have a pursuit on your hands. That's what keeps me where I am, doing what I do. I'm a 911 dispatcher.

Needless to say, there are things that go wrong or things that drive me up the wall. The long hours sitting at the console running traffic, answering the phone, transferring calls, taking 911's. And then there's entering warrants into NCIC... All the little things that I dislike about working in such a stressful, fast paced environment. Don't think it's that hard?

The other morning, I walked into dispatch and took my usual place. Just 45 minutes into my shift, 911 goes off. The first thing I hear is groaning and gurgling.

"911, your emergency?"
"Yes, there's a woman who is a guest at our house and I believe she's having a seizure."
"Your address ma'am?"
"1204 Johnson Lane"
"How old is she?"
"46, please hurry."
The groaning gets louder and sounds painful. Time to rally the troops. I page out EMS and they go enroute to the call shortly after. Meanwhile, I give the woman on the phone instructions.

"I show your callback number as.... Is this a good number? Do not try and hold her still ma'am. I know she looks like she could hurt herself but she shouldn't, just stay with me. Any medical history? What is her name? Is she on any sort of medication? What was she doing before this happened? She's calming down? Okay, have her rest in a comfortable position and do not give her anything to eat or drink. Is she disoriented? Does she know her name, where she is, what her birthday is?"

Then the radio clicks. 
"Unit 41, Central, show us on scene." 
"Central, Unit 41, 10-4, on scene at 0805"

Back to the caller.
"Ma'am, EMS advises they are on scene, can you tell me if they are outside?"
"Yes, I see them!"
"Okay, they will take the call from here."
"Okay!"
*click* 

For those few moments in time, a dispatcher goes from being a regular person to being a lifeline. Being a dispatcher, you are responsible for so much more than what most people think. It's like asking somebody to memorize the local phone book, all the cross streets in the city, and a medical dictionary, and being able to recall this information at the drop of a hat. At least you're get paid for it...

What a lot of people don't remember is that there is another human being on the other end of the line, trying to make a living doing what many people wouldn't ever consider trying."You guys ask too many questions. Why do you need to know that? What does it matter what medication she is on? I don't remember what color the car was, just pull them over! I want to remain anonymous, I'm just reporting that I saw the vehicle being stolen. How should I know where I am, you're the dispatcher! I'm just driving through, how should I know how far I am from Middle-Of-Nowhere, Texas?" It's a never-ending slew of questions being used as answers for my questions. Do you want help or not?!

This is my rant page, the page where I plan to talk about all the good and terrible things that happen in this line of work. Check back often, I promise there is much to talk about. Mind you, I work at a very small agency. Small enough that there is often just one dispatcher on duty, dispatching for two counties. I am the call taker, 911 operator, and dispatcher. And for now, I wouldn't have it any other way.