National Telecommunicators Week continues through Saturday, April 20.
Telecommunicators play a crucial role in emergency response, providing critical assistance during times of distress and uncertainty. They are the calm voice on the other end of the line, guiding callers through emergencies and dispatching the necessary resources to the scene.
Starke County Sheriff’s Office Chief Dispatcher Stacy Noonan commented that new programs have been implemented at the Sheriff’s Office that will aid dispatchers and first responders.
“We received RapidSOS which is a 911 program where we can see your location prior to our phones even ringing on our end, as well as Prepared Live which is a program where we can send a link to a caller on a cell phone. They give us permission to see their camera and we can see live video feed of what they’re trying to describe to us. Sometimes they’re not able to give us the correct information, a description – that way we are able to actually see what they’re seeing and then coordinate that response, and then effectively communicate that information to the responders.”
Noonan said the dispatchers just finished the training on Prepared Live and it should be operational at the end of the month.
Dispatchers are a callers’ first responder to get help for whatever situation is taking place. We celebrate them this week for their efforts.
