Amidst the chaos, crazy and unpredictability that we all know to have been this last year, when many were sent home to work, our essential 9-1-1 professionals didn’t have that option. Public Safety Telecommunicators have prioritized the public’s health and safety over their own by continuing to work in close quarters, answering calls, and providing aid to those in need while dealing with constantly changing emergency response protocols. Like many other first responders navigating these unprecedented times, these Telecommunicators have sacrificed and persevered.
McLean County 9-1-1 Communications (Metcom) has a staff of twenty-one telecommunicators that range from one year on the job to the most seasoned with twenty-nine years’ experience. Thank you to our dispatchers and all the public safety dispatchers everywhere for wearing that headset, answering the calls, sending out the resources to those in need, and keeping our first responders safe.
National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week was originally established by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in California in 1981. In 1994, “National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week” was formally recognized and is celebrated each year during the second full week of April to coincide with National 9-1-1 Education Month. The purpose of the week is to celebrate and show thanks and appreciation for all these individuals who serve the public through public safety communications.
This year we will be celebrating April 11-17th at Metcom.