Archive: Around Town

A house fire in Dryden, a car accident in Danby, and a police stand-off in Ithaca--all at the same time.  The proper delivery of vital, life-saving information in a matter of minutes for all of these events happens at the Tompkins County 911 Center: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 (or even 366) days a year.

Each April, we recognize the unsung heroes who work in 911 centers across America with National Telecommunicators Week; proclaimed by Congress in 1991.  This month, Tompkins County is building upon that opportunity to honor its dedicated team of professional emergency dispatchers.

"We like to think of this center as the life-saving link for anyone in trouble," says Brian Wilbur, interim manager of the County's 911 Communications Center.

2012 marks the 15th year of 911 in Tompkins County. The dispatchers work together at the Emergency Communications Center near the Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport in a room where the focus is on critical, instant communication and little else.  Sometimes there are five people handling as many as 15 different incidents in the county at the same time; acting as "air-traffic" controllers on three separate radio systems for police, fire, and ambulance crews.

Just like those who manage to keep planes in the air; these dispatchers are working under stressful conditions, "They are truly on the front-line of a crisis several times a day," says Wilbur.

According to county records, there were more than 57,000 calls for help to Tompkins County's 911 Center in 2011.

"Public safety is the number one priority," says Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane, "and we thank each and every dispatcher who gives up time with their loved ones to protect our loved ones."

Recent studies find 911 dispatchers must cope with post-traumatic stress disorder at a level equivalent or even greater than firefighters and police officers.

"Think about it," says Wilbur. "The dispatcher never gets to experience the satisfaction of seeing in person the happy ending to a crisis situation; be it a choking victim, childbirth, or other police or fire emergency."

Dispatchers want to remind you to limit any 911 calls to true emergencies, so they can focus on getting help where it is needed most as fast as possible.

"Tompkins County 911 is not the weather service or a concierge," Wilbur emphasizes.  "These dispatchers are true 'Earth angels in headsets!'"

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