911 Center ready to help at a moment’s notice
Julie Polka, a dispatcher at the 911 Center for more than 22 years, dispatches EMS for an emergency call.
Each year more than 24,000 calls are received at the Tuscarawas County 911 Center inside the Tuscarawas County Justice Center, which also houses the sheriff’s office in New Philadelphia. Approximately 130,000 calls each year are received at the sheriff's office nonemergency number.
“Sometimes they call our regular line, but it can still be an emergency. Out of all those phone calls, we process about 50,000 calls for service,” Lt. Ryan Lawrence of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Department said.
All the information for these calls is logged, and help is dispatched.
The center dispatches all Tuscarawas County fire and EMS and 10-of-13 police departments in the county, with the exception of the police departments in New Philadelphia, Dover and Newcomerstown, which have their own dispatchers.
It’s incredible how fast 911 dispatchers can get help on the way. Normally, four dispatchers work at the center during each eight-hour shift. There are stations for up to six dispatchers to work at once if there is a big event like severe weather happening in the county.
Other times fewer dispatchers may be scheduled during a slow time like last spring’s lockdown. “Beginning in March and April, we had less calls because people didn't leave their houses and they didn't want to go to the hospital. Now we are back to normal,” Lawrence said.
In the 911 Center, one station serves as the call taker and answers every call that comes in, another station dispatches fire and EMS, a third station dispatches the police, and a fourth dispatches for the sheriff’s office. As information is logged, it appears on the screens of all the staff who work together to dispatch all units simultaneously.
“Usually it's under a minute,” said telecommunicator Julie Polka, who has worked as a dispatcher at the center for 22 years. “You can normally tell the severity of the call by listening to the call taker, her voice and her demeanor, and what she's talking about. If I hear fire, then I’m ready. I know I’m going to dispatch fire.”
The information the call taker types into the computer also appears on the computer screens of the other work stations. Your location is what the information dispatchers want first.
“Most times, even though you say '911 where is your emergency,' they tend to tell you what the emergency is before where,” Polka said. “We would rather get their location first. Because if the phone is disconnected, then we can at least send law enforcement.”
Callers can rest easy that the 911 dispatchers will get help to them as soon as possible.
“Sometimes people are irritated with you asking questions because they don't think you're sending help,” Polka said. “But you are because you and your co-workers are working as a team. We're dispatching help to them while we're on the phone, and we are updating information during the call while the squad is on the way.”
As the dispatchers work, all the information they input on the units responding for help are date and time stamped in their computer software; it’s useful information the safety departments can use when applying for grants and other funding.
Depending on the circumstances of an emergency, the dispatchers also may contact other agencies like the Ohio State Patrol, county dog warden, township trustees, county commissioners or human services agencies.
The mapping system the center uses was a requirement when the state of Ohio started using Enhanced 911 approximately 10 years ago. “The maps are improving, and we're getting a lot more information than we ever had before,” Lawrence said.
The system is usually very accurate in locating people who call from a cell phone. The dispatchers are thankful the mapping system works so well. Right after it was installed, the system proved invaluable for two area boaters who called from a cell phone during an emergency.
“We had, I believe, a father and son that had overturned near Moose Island (in the Tuscarawas River.) We were able to find them pretty quickly,” Polka said.
Though the dispatchers usually work as a team, each station is set up to handle calls independently from the others if needed. It was just before noon on a Thursday during an interview for this article that three emergency phone calls came in at once, and a fourth one came in seconds later. All the calls were answered immediately.
If any additional calls come in that the 911 Center can’t handle, those calls roll over to the New Philadelphia or Dover dispatchers, who also cover if the 911 Center phone lines would go down.
With a job so critical to the well-being of the community, meal breaks for dispatchers outside of the center do not happen. “This is our breakfast table, our lunch table and our dinner table,” Polka said of her desk.
The 24/7 job provides many stresses including having to stay over if someone calls in sick or a severe storm moves into the area. The calls that affect the dispatchers the most are calls dealing with children or if a call is about someone they know personally.
“On Christmas when you're watching your kids open presents, someone's here answering 911,” Lawrence said. “Dispatchers miss their kids' soccer games and things like that, so that is one of the more difficult things with being a dispatcher, just knowing you're going to miss those things and sacrificing. Everyone does it because they want to help people.”
The department can use more dispatchers. “We are always looking for good people to join us,” Lawrence said. “I would say the hardest part of the job is dealing with people on their worst day and the schedule. To be a 911 operator, you have to want to help people.”
The dispatchers are required to take much training to prepare them for the job including courses on how to dispatch, emergency medical dispatching, the department’s policies and procedures, and using the computer, phone and radio systems at the center. Then a trainer will sit with them on the job for two months before they are allowed to work on their own. Yearly training also is required to keep their certification.
There are ways the public can help the dispatchers. Polka advised people who have medical alert devices ensure the company they deal with has all their information. The same goes for businesses.
“Alarm companies call in here, and they have little to no information about their subscribers,” Polka said. “Many times the medical alert companies call and they do not have the name of the patient or the age or any medical information.”
Businesses should make sure their local law-enforcement agency knows who the key holders are and their contact numbers. “We actually have a form that they can fill out. That information would help the dispatchers, especially if there is a fire and we have to try to get ahold of the business owner and key holders,” Polka said.
For people with a disability, their home can be flagged in the system so the information is available if an emergency occurs. Call the sheriff’s office at its nonemergency number at 330- 339-2000 for more information.
This year when safety is already a top concern, it’s reassuring to know the 911 Center is ready to help at a moment’s notice with caring staff who are well trained.