At any given second of any given day, an urgent call for emergency help may come in.
At any given second of any given day, an urgent call for emergency help may come in.
Public safety dispatchers serve as a critical lifeline between the community and fire, medical services and law enforcement patrol units in Geauga County.
“I think the best way to sum up what a dispatcher does is they create calm from chaos,” said Lt. Brandon Reed, commander of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division. “Many people that call 9-1-1 are in an elevated state of hysteria, panic or fear. People are often calling us when they’re having their worst day imaginable. They are calling us when they’re at their worst and ‘our’ people need to be at their best.”
Reed’s sentiments come on the heels of mid-April’s “National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week,” which acknowledges those who serve behind the scenes and are always there to answer the call.
The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center is the Primary Public Safety Answering Point for the residents and visitors of Geauga County.
The sheriff’s office dispatchers serve the county’s 14 fire departments, eight different law enforcement agencies, and a multitude of support agencies and specialized response teams.
The exception are those who reside or call from Chardon City, which has its own police department PSAP, receiving calls from landline telephone equipment within city limits.
All wired and wireless 9-1-1 Emergency Calls placed from Geauga County are routed to the sheriff’s office PSAP at 12450 Merritt Drive.
“We want our public to be aware that Text-to-911 is an option but that it really needs to be used as a last resort and that the preferred method of reaching 9-1-1 is always going to be by placing a voice call from a wired or wireless device,” Reed said. “Text-to-9-1-1 is a nice option for those persons who have speech impairments or for those who perhaps don’t feel safe placing a voice call for some reason. For example, a victim of domestic physical or domestic abuse may try hiding in a room to call for help and instead of placing a voice call, where the aggressor could hear them placing the call, you could send a text message to 9-1-1 instead.”
Reed stressed, “Though this feature is a great option for those who can’t actually place a voice call, it should not be used as a first option for people who can safely place a voice call to the 9-1-1 dispatch center.”
Under Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand’s leadership, this single computer records management system was implemented (during the time he was chief deputy) and utilized by all police and fire departments in Geauga County.
“We have been working together on the same radio system for many years,” Hildenbrand said. “All public safety personnel can talk to each other in Geauga County. That is not the case in other parts of the country. From everyday operations to large scale incidents, everything runs much more smoothly when we can all communicate.”
Dispatch is also the emergency notification center for Red Cross, Geauga County Dog Warden, Geauga County Highway Department, Geauga Regional Hospital Security, Geauga County Humane Society, Geauga County Game Warden and Punderson Park Rangers.
“With my background in law enforcement and the fire service, I knew it was important to be able to not only communicate, but be able to share information across the county,” Hildenbrand added. “We help each other every day and by sharing information, it helps keep our people safe and serve the public better.”
Manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the center is staffed with between three to five public safety dispatchers at all times.
“Many of our communications officers have law enforcement, fire service or EMS experience and certifications,” Reed said. “All GCSO dispatchers are trained and certified as EMDs (emergency medical dispatchers). This is the training and certification that allows our dispatchers to give pre-arrival and/or lifesaving instructions to callers over the phone.”
On a recent afternoon, Juanita Herrington, a 26-year dispatcher, sat perched at her controls in front of five screens — a life-time pursuit that has brought her much fulfillment.
“I love it,” Herrington said, as her eyes scanned all five screens. “At least you get the satisfaction of helping people.”
An audible routine test for Perry Nuclear Power Plant was scheduled for that afternoon, with a call soon coming in from Thompson Township, the north half of which is in the 10-mile radius of the plant.
“Perry is testing their sirens, there is no emergency,” a nearby dispatcher’s voice could be heard saying.
Often called “the calm in the storm,” Reed said “a dispatcher’s focus must be sharp every day.”
Dispatchers often work under strict time restrictions and high-stress conditions.
“It’s teamwork,” Herrington said. “You have got to be aware of what everyone else in the room is doing.”
Reed added that emergency communications and public safety in general is an ever-changing industry, with county personnel working extremely hard to keep up with the demands of the job, sending personnel to trainings whenever possible to ensure in keeping up with new information systems, new techniques, new legislations, etc.
“Our business is not slowing down,” Reed said. “It is constantly getting busier. More residents or visitors to the county means higher call volumes. Not everyone can be a public safety dispatcher. It really takes a special person to be able to work in this business. Careers in public safety are more than jobs, they’re professions.”
Reed added, “The men and women that make up the Geauga County Sheriff’s Communications Division are very special people.”
