STAFFORD, Va. — It can be a stressful job, but Stafford County’s Telecommunicators are the front lines of emergency services.
They were recognized on Saturday during an open house at the Ford T. Humphrey Public Safety Center in Stafford during an open house. The event allowed residents to come inside the building that houses a 911 call center, and the sheriff’s and fire and rescue departments.
The open house is held to coincide with National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.
“We want to know first is where is the emergency, then we want to know what is the nature of the emergency, and everything else after that becomes an interrogation so we can get more information from the caller, to keep them calm, to provide CPR instructions, or whatever else the caller may need,” said Carol Adams, of Stafford, a communications supervisor in the call center.
After gathering the information, from their desks, dispatchers put that information into a CAD, or computer aided dispatch system to notify the proper emergency response, and then announce the nature of the emergency call over the county’s emergency radio transmitter.
Severe injuries, car crashes, or most anything involving small children can make for a difficult call to take. That’s why after help has been sent, there’s a nearby quiet room for call takers to take refuge where you’ll be hard pressed to find a TV, radio, or anything else that could break the silence, as the room is meant to be used to recoup after a tough call.
Interestingly enough, these call takers go through the same training as the sheriff’s deputies in the field, minus the physical testing law enforcement officers go through. Much of that training is done inside the Nick E. Stepaniak Communication Training Center adjacent to the 911 call center. Stepaniak, a decorated emergency call taker, passed away earlier this year after long battle with cancer, and officials here dedicated the training center in his honor.
National Public Safety Telecommunications Week continues through Saturday.
