Having served eight years as an operations manager at Jefferson County, Missouri 9-1-1 Dispatch, 15 years as a volunteer firefighter, and six years as Chairman of the Board for North Jefferson Ambulance District, I am very familiar with the stress and sacrifice that public safety communications professionals experience every day. With long hours and exposure to society’s unpleasantries, it can be thankless job. But all of that changes during the second week of April.
This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW). Started by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County, California, Sheriff’s Office in 1981 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, NPSTW honors the men and women who serve as 9-1-1 call takers, emergency dispatchers, radio and phone technicians, and other public safety communications staff.
With more than 6,000 Public Safety Answering Points in the United States, these public safety professionals are dedicated to helping citizens when they need it most; public safety telecommunication professionals are the vital link between law enforcement and emergency response personnel. But citizens and community leaders don’t have to wait until NPSTW to honor and thank public safety communications staff. A simple thank you at the end of an emergency call is a bigger gesture of gratitude than you might think.
As someone who works in the public safety industry to deliver technologies that support public safety telecommunicators and agencies around the world, I would like to say thank you on behalf of Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the communities you serve. It is because of you that millions of Americans are able to get the care and protection they need in their most difficult moments.
If you would like to know more about the National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and read stories from public safety telecommunicators, visit their website today.
