Dispatchers Are Detectives Too
During your assigned shift you dispatched officers to the B2 Enterprises Gun Store to investigate the theft of a firearm that just occurred. An unknown person had stolen a shotgun from a countertop in the gun store.
The Promise
I have been a dispatcher with the Birmingham Police Department for more than 17 years. I began my career on the 3-11 shift and what an exciting ride it was. I received a call about a man that had attempted to commit suicide in a very large cemetery, he stated …
A Life-Changing Call
(Recording of a 9-1-1 call in which a dispatcher guided a husband through CPR on his wife, who had collapsed.) I can’t tell you much I love my job and the amazing feeling I had that day when I found out that the patient had survived. It was truly a …
An Unusual 911 Call
This happened while I was working as a dispatcher for the Washington County Sheriffs Office in Blair, Nebraska. One morning I received a 911 call from a 12-year-old who said she was taking a bubble bath and her Dachshund jumped in the tub with her and ended up swallowing a …
It’s a BOY!
January 29th, 2015 started out in the dispatch center like any other day. We arrived at 0600 to start the shift, and settled in for the next 12 hours. At approximately 0830 Dispatcher Enloe answered a 911 call, “Fire and EMS Where is your Emergency?”. Immediately I knew this call …
Unexpected Negotiations
I started my career as a 911/police dispatcher in 1998 at the Salt Lake City Police Dept. I grew up listening to my mom’s scanner and felt extra covert special because I had learned the 10 codes for the county. Much to my dismay I learned the SLC doesn’t use …
Self Dispatched First Responder
On 04/21/97, I began my journey as a public servant with the Shreveport Fire Department. Our agency is the primary PSAP and the initial point of contact with the citizens of Caddo Parish. I had no previous call taking or dispatching experience prior to accepting my conditional offer of employment. …
Switched Frequency Helps Officer in Trouble
I began my career as a 911 dispatcher just about six years ago. Four short months into my career I heard my first “plea” for an officer assist over the radio. It’s a moment I will never forget and I believe it is the moment that confirmed that I want …
GPS Saved a Life
Roughly six months ago I was working a radio when I was notified by a call taker that she received a 911 call from a gentleman pleading for help and said he was going to hang himself. She had stamped a call based off the phase 2 wireless coordinates his …
Quick Action Saves Man from Fully Engulfed Overturned Vehicle
I was sitting at the police console that dispatches for 4 cities including Black Diamond, Wash. on a Sunday morning. Black Diamond is a small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and usually has 1 or 2 police officers working on any given shift. I received a notification …
