Birmingham City 911

Submitted by Erika Chalmers

I have been a part of this communications department for a little less than a year and accepting this job and being blessed to work for this Department been the best decision I ever made. Since day one I was in shock at the respect and dedication to take care of not only the employees but the citizens in Birmingham City and surrounding areas. As dispatchers for not only fire & rescue, but police as well it is very important to have a great environment and what I call “family” like relationship with your co-workers, and that is something I can proudly say I am a part of. Every dispatcher I have worked around handles every call as if it was someone dear to them, motivated to assist any situation that is on the other end of the phone whether it be a hysterical mother who has just walked into her son unresponsive and will not listen to any instructions you try to give her because that’s her baby, or an individual that has called 3x a night every night every week for the same thing, every call is handled the same as it should be. This department has made me a better person inside and outside of work it has taught me to be more humble, understanding and aware of others because our goal has always been to take care of the citizens as we are employed to do but better yet, as we love to do.  Birmingham City’s 911 covers more territory than over 50% of any single communications department in the state of Alabama and to be able to do that wholeheartedly with a smile on your face shows the character of an individual and a team.

The policies we were trained to follow to be the best dispatchers we can and having supervisors that are easy to communicate with and will assist you are what makes Birmingham City Communications Department in my personal opinion the best place to be a part of. Strict rules on things such as the time in which calls are answered, dispatched and the time our units arrive to the person in need of assistance are one thing I take pride in, as I know every second counts and I have witnessed many situations where that has been proven. From the dispatchers, supervisors all the way up to the top of command I am proud to work with every person a part of Birmingham City’s 911 Communication Department.