Thank a Dispatcher! April 12-18 is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week

Seekonk – Seekonk Public Safety Communications Department, the town agency responsible for 911 and police and fire dispatch, is gearing up to honor its own. Celebrated annually, National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week occurs in the second week of April and is set aside to shine a light on those working out of the spotlight in public safety.

Seldom seen by the public, but crucial in the chain of emergency response, public safety telecommunicators include 911 operators, call takers and dispatchers. In local communities, including Seekonk and Rehoboth, the members of these small departments do all three tasks simultaneously. In addition to serving the public’s emergency needs through 911 and dispatch services, they coordinate resources for police and fire departments on emergency scenes, staff the communications center 24/7, sometimes working as many as 16 hours in a day, and deal with public inquiries in station lobbies.

Massachusetts public safety dispatchers, in fact telecommunicators around the country, are far from the secretaries and clerks of yesteryear. In Massachusetts a dispatcher must undergo extensive training and certification to be eligible for the position. Certifications are required in Public Safety Telecommunications for all dispatchers, additionally, those who answer 911 directly must also obtain certification from the state and be trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch and CPR, in order to give life saving instruction and pre-arrival information over the phone until emergency responders can arrive. Many are also trained to manage suicidal callers, domestic disturbances and other potential volatile situations while gaining crucial information for police or medical personnel responding.

Though unlike the police and fire department, public safety communicators are seldom seen by the people they help, they are an integral part of the system that keeps the community safe. Public Safety Telecommunicator Week is an annual reminder to think of the local dispatchers and how they are always standing by waiting for the next call.