This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. An entire week that's dedicated to honoring dispatchers and call takers who are the first of the first responders.
Like all of our other first responders this can be a very stressful job where every day is unpredictable.
Caycie Froideveaux, Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor for the City of Reno, says, "You could still be getting an emergency call on an emergency line. So, it's really a mixed bag every time you answer the phone. You never know what you're going to encounter."
There are three dispatch centers in Washoe county. Sparks dispatch, Reno dispatch, and Washoe County dispatch. And Reno is the second busiest 911 call center in Nevada.
Last year the total call volume was just under 469,924 calls processed. Over 188,049 calls were 911 calls. Averaging over 1,287 calls per day.
Director of Public Safety Dispatch, Cody Shadle, says, "If you're calling from Reno or within Washoe County actually you have a 65% chance of coming into the city of Reno. And it makes sense, most of our people live in Reno, they travel through Reno, they do activities in Reno, and when a crisis happens it's usually when they're out and about."
When answering a phone call dispatch has to be ready for anything. They even need to know how to guide someone through all kinds of medical emergencies while waiting for first responders to arrive.
"Our dispatchers are trained to provide lifesaving instructions so in the case of an imminent birth, someone is in labor and needs to give birth before that can get to the hospital, our dispatchers actually have scripts and protocols they can provide those instructions to tell someone how to give birth," Shadle explains.
Froideveaux says the most common ones are related to domestic violence and car crashes.
But she tells us the hardest calls are the ones that involve children, "Especially a lot of us here have kids and when you get calls pertaining to children it can be really really tough. Those are sometimes the hardest calls on staff is things involving children."
She says they also experience a lot of the same mental health issues as field responders such as PTSD. They're also susceptible to sensory deprivation as they only hear the issue and never get to see the result of the call.
Froideveaux says she works hard to maintain a healthy mentality.
"I rely a lot on my friends and my family, I have a really great support system outside of work. I try to turn off when I leave work."
Some 911 calls can be tough to work through, especially when the caller is panicking. Froideveaux says the best thing you can do is share your location and try to be patient with the operator.
"We get that a lot of people being upset about all the questions, but we have to, so just bear with us while we're asking questions and just slow down and try to take a breath and listen."
Reno Dispatch also says the best way to determine if you should call 911 or their non-emergency line is asking yourself this: Is there a threat to someone's life or property?
If yes, then call 911. If no, then call non-emergency.
