911 dispatchers recognized for daily heroism

EASTERN IDAHO, Idaho (KIFI) - The week of April 10-April 16 was National Public Safety Telecommunicators week. It was a time of special recognition for dispatchers nationwide. These are the people who pick up when we call 911 or the police non-emergency line.

Candee Coverley, a dispatcher with Madison County, says having a week of special recognition was special "And that's always nice to know that people recognize what we do and that or the first thing you talk to and you call for law enforcement help." she says, "It's good to have that acknowledgment. Recognize that there's a job out there a lot of people don't know about."

At least one fellow dispatcher from Idaho Falls echoed that sentiment.

"Normally we don't get to be noticed or in the spotlight. We're the person that answers the phone," Mandy Johnson said. "And then there's nobody else. You don't get to see us or anything. It's just we answer the phone and then people are there to help you. And so having a week just for us is pretty cool."

Coverley says everything dispatchers do when fielding our 911 calls is to get help out in the fastest and safest way possible. She goes on to explain, "A lot of times the public might not understand why we're asking the information we do, but it helps us out be able to answer the questions officers are going to ask us as they're responding so we can keep them safe with knowing what they're going to be walking into when they get there."

Johnson stresses teaching your children the importance of how they can help by advising "The only other thing that I could stress is please make sure your children know their home address."

Both Madison County and Idaho Falls are looking for people to join their dispatch teams. They could use the help fielding hundreds of calls daily.

Click here for more information on Madison County.

For Idaho Falls, click here.