Katie Seames sat behind a wall of monitors that shone down on her and Raven Kern on Tuesday at the Glynn-Brunswick 911 Center as the pair pored over the locations of different neighborhoods in Brunswick.
Kern was absorbing the official names and nicknames of each neighborhood, their locations, and information about the streets that intersect them, among other things, so that she can one day convey what is pertinent to law enforcement and emergency medical services in her role as a 911 dispatcher.
It is Kern’s second week on the job and Seames was tasked Tuesday with training her on everything it takes to work in public safety dispatch. Kern, who has family members who have worked in the field, pursued the career with one simple purpose in mind.
Seames entered the field two-and-a-half years ago for the same reason and loves her job.
That love is being returned to dispatchers around the country this week during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, created by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to honor dispatchers’ commitment to service.
It’s a commitment Heather Lynn said has no comparison. She was the supervisor of Team A on Tuesday, working a 12-hour shift and overseeing four dispatchers, each dedicated during their shift to a specific agency.
“There is nothing I can compare it to, honestly,” Lynn said.
“Being able to calm people down through tough situations. It’s good to be that reassuring voice on the other line.”
That is a big part of the job, said Britney Wheatly, who was working on the county police dispatch line Tuesday.
“We have to remember, they may be calling you on the worst day of their lives, at the worst moment in their lives,” Wheatly said.
Which means dispatchers must remain calm, convey that calmness to the caller, and act quickly to put the proper wheels in motion to address whatever the issue is, Wheatly said. She receives plenty of calls that are of a more mundane nature — minor medical emergencies, minor traffic crashes, business owners needing to have someone criminally trespassed, and vagrancy.
“It was awful,” she said. “That one really stood out to me. I’ll always remember that call.”
Even with the challenges of dealing with life-altering moments, Wheatly said she has found her passion.
“I would not want to do anything else,” she said. “I love it here. This is the thing I want to do until I retire.”
Her affinity for the work is due in large part to the unpredictability of the job, she said. Being a dispatcher is never boring.
“You never have the same day twice,” Wheatly said. “It’s always something different. It’s kind of exciting in that way.”
Lynn concurred and added that the team of dispatchers at the Glynn-Brunswick 911 Center is a family who relies on each other to survive through the toughest of calls.
“We’re always here for each other,” Lynn said. “We really rely on our team here.”
The Glynn County and Brunswick police and fire departments rely on them as well to be the conduit between the caller and to provide accurate and timely information for each call. That is why they have been showering the dispatchers with special recognition this week.
The smell of a perfectly smoked Boston butt emanated throughout the dispatch room on Tuesday. A table with several lunch options was tucked away in a corner complete with several items brought by agencies like the Brunswick Fire Department, the Glynn County Police Department and others.
The dispatchers celebrate in their own way as well. Each day has a different theme. Tuesday was beach day, which will be followed by decades day, Western day and pajama day on Saturday.
Source: https://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/dispatchers-answer-the-call-to-serve/article_5adacfa8-f175-569c-a608-752ae1dba0be.html
