By Anna Edwards
Regina Morris, a former dispatcher for the Onondaga County Department of Emergency Communications, spoke at the Liverpool Public Library on Wednesday, May 29, to provide information on the 911 call center.
Morris discussed the central role of dispatchers in emergency communications. She talked about the necessary skills for the job and the process of taking calls. The former dispatcher explained that all calls for police, fire, and emergency medical services go through 911.
“We are the central hub of everything. We’re the nervous system,” she said.
Morris talked about the pressure on dispatchers to do their job right under dire conditions. Dispatchers must ensure that they assign the right department to the right location. There is no room for mistakes, according to Morris.
“If I put in a call for the Syracuse police and the incident is actually in Baldwinsville, I have the potential of killing someone,” Morris said.
Dispatchers must be able to handle stress along with talking, typing and listening effectively. It’s important for them to notice the tone of callers.
“Are they screaming? Are they whispering? What other sounds are you hearing behind them? Are things being thrown?” Morris said.
Morris said that there are cases in domestic issues where people call 911 sitting right beside someone who does not know they are calling.
In these cases, the dispatcher tells the person calling to pretend they are talking to a friend and the dispatcher asks only yes or no questions.
Morris took her audience through the process of taking a 911 call.
She said dispatchers always ask for names and telephone numbers. Morris said that to find where an emergency is taking place, dispatchers ask more than just the street name.
“We always verify locations … What’s the nearest corner or intersection? If you don’t know that, what’s the nearest landmark? Maybe you ask for a zip code. What do you see? What’s around you?” she said.
Certain questions are asked based on the situation at hand.
If a burglary is being witnessed, dispatchers ask about the point of entry, weapons, and descriptions of people. In a medical emergency, dispatchers can walk those at the scene through CPR.
Dispatchers stay on the line in these cases until someone arrives to help.
Morris explained that certain information can be collected through technology, a helpful way to confirm the information provided over the phone.
Cell phones tell dispatchers the GPS location. Morris also talked about how cell phones allow users to put their medical information or emergency contacts into their settings so that workers can find it easily in the case of an emergency. People can also text 911 if they cannot speak.
Dispatchers work to give emergency workers all the information that they need.
“We’re the system (for officers). Whatever they need, whatever they want, we’re going to be there,” Morris said.
Dispatchers also check on the safety of officers responding to calls. If they don’t hear back from officers, dispatchers send over another unit.
“We’re constantly in contact with our officers,” Morris said.
The difference between emergency and non-emergency calls was also discussed.
Morris said that events that pose an imminent danger to people and property take priority, and those calls are responded to within three minutes. She said that calls that don’t involve imminent danger can have a longer response time.
Morris informed attendees about fake 911 calls and situations where children call or people call accidentally. Emergency services must take every call seriously, even when it is probably nothing.
“We are always double-checking,” she said.
Penalties for fake 911 calls can be up to $1,000 in fines or jail time.
Morris informed listeners that emergency services in different areas tend to respond to different types of calls. She explained that smaller agencies have time to answer more of the “feel-good calls,” like a cat stuck in a tree, while larger agencies often don’t have as much time for those calls.
