Hitting Potholes at 200 Miles Per Hour
“The Life of a Dispatcher”
No I haven't been to a single World's Fair or any event that deals with a goat but I
have sure seen some things in my time. I have worked in emergency services since
two weeks before my 18th birthday. I have been a career firefighter, engineer, and
shift officer. I have been a volunteer firefighter and officer. I am a paramedic, and
have been for over 20 years at this point in my career. I've worked for the busiest
EMS system in the state with the deadliest roads in the nation. I was assigned to the
busiest rescue truck in the county with a primary response area of nearly 200 square
miles. I’ve served as zone sergeant and a shift supervisor. I even worked nights
which is scary in and of itself in this County. I've worked as an operations captain for
7 years. I was the technical rescue team coordinator, Hazardous Materials
Coordinator and served as squad leader on US&R and Medical Group leader on
COBRA. There is barely a place I can go without remembering something bad that
happened there. I say all that to say that to say this. Of everything I've done
professionally the last 25 years the first day I sat down in the chair as a dispatcher I
knew it was the toughest job of my career.
I only fill in and don't claim to be a real dispatcher. Even so, I have felt the heat of the
pressure of the position. I have witnessed countless hours of complicated dynamics.
It’s different than anything I’ve ever experienced. I've assisted birth of more than a
few babies and held the hand of parents who had to say goodbye to their own. I've
cared for and watched family from other agencies die before my eyes. All of these
things help me truly understand the toughest job of all. In the field we are primarily
judged only after a bad call or when an appraisal comes due. The dispatcher is
judged every second of every day. Before the microphone is released everyone who
listens is being a critic. They are presumed guilty way before a shred of evidence is
ever presented. Their actions and words are recorded in every way. What is heard
on the radio is generally only the tip of a very large and complex iceberg hidden
below the surface. So often I hear field providers talk negative about communication
specialists. I was once one of those people. Then my eyes were opened. There was
a time the mean spirited words made me angry but now it just makes me laugh. See,
I know the truth. I've invested years reviewing calls from start to finish. My opinion is
based on experience not assumptions. Often I hear dispatchers don't care. The truth
is nobody cares more about your safety and more about getting it right every time
than your dispatcher does. It’s simply a matter of pride and a way of life for them.
Dispatchers are unique individuals. They routinely hold two conversations at once
while monitoring two more all the while keeping the information accurate and
separate. They can talk on the phone providing reassurance or lifesaving directions
while talking on the radio all while keeping their emotions hidden inside. They can
switch their tone from controlling to reassuring in a micro second. They move from
one stressful call to another without a minute to defrag. Dispatchers are required to
carry out the mission of the department no matter how unpopular it is with the field.
They see the mission from 1000 feet not from the front of your truck or car. They eat
their meals while working not because they have to but because it's too busy to
leave their coworkers hanging.
The road of a dispatcher is filled with potholes and the car they drive every day is
going 200 mph. The map they navigate with is provided one call at a time by the
uninformed caller. The directions look like this ngfdxhjt. Jhgtrdvcxse fgnvcxtukll and
in less than 60 seconds we expect it to be translated perfectly and delivered on a
silver platter. Even so, somehow our dispatches speed down the road navigating
around each pothole with magical success until one day the odds finally get them.
Then they sit in front of a firing squad justifying their driving skills to people who have
no clue about the road they travel. They explain the best they know how and simply
move on.
There is always an empty chair for observation if you don't believe my words are
true. If you choose to take a seat, be sure to fasten your seatbelt because you are in
for one heck of a ride.
Assistant Chief Mike Mitchell