Honoring Emergency Dispatchers and Animal Control Officers
First responders are everyday heroes. This week is about appreciating those behind the scenes so we are celebrating our 9-1-1 Dispatchers for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and Animal Control Officers for Animal Care and Control Week.
A day at work for a 9-1-1 dispatcher.
“Unpredictable for the most part. Usually, in the morning, it starts with some traffic calls or things they found overnight. Vandalism calls. Throughout the day, it depends on the time of day. We can get accidents during higher traffic times. During the summer incidents with juveniles during the day because they’re not at school because they’re not in school. It just depends,” says Lindsey Ervin, who has been a dispatcher for 15 years.
Staying calm is important.
“They need the help and I have to be that calm in their life at that moment. And I’m sure it’s just the focus and training you work with and practice,” says Stephen Smith, who has been a dispatcher for two years.
Some stories stick with them.
“When we had the snowmobile accident with those juveniles over in the Comre Loma area I was the dispatcher talking to the juvenile trying to instruct him with CPR and keep reassuring him we had help in the area looking for him. Then there are the calls where they say ‘I shot my cousin.’ then another call where they say their baby is shaking and turning blue. Those things kind of stick with you.” says Smith.
“There was a guy that was suicidal. And I stayed on the phone with him for several hours. He was able to meet up with the officers. The best part of that was he called the next day and said he wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me. So that one, I would say is the most impacting,” says Ervin.
A little appreciation can sometimes go a long way.
“It’s nice knowing all of the departments are giving us the moments of appreciation and are coming up to tell us how much of a difference we make in their daily jobs and we’re behind the scenes so we don’t get to see a lot of them so when they come up here it means the world.”
We would also like to congratulate Bradey Owens for being CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Dispatcher of the Year.
They’re not the only ones being appreciated this week. It’s also Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week.
They do a lot for our community. They say it’s all worth it.
“It’s a very thankless job that we do. Fortunately for us, we don’t care too much about the accolades or to be thanked. We do it for the animals and the community and education,” says Clarissa Mueller, Animal Control Officer.
If you want to thank them yourself you can do it on their Facebook page – Idaho Falls Animal Shelter.
