B.C. Legislature pays respect to vital role of emergency call takers and dispatchers in the province

The Prince Rupert Fire Hall is the first point of contact
for those seeking emergency assistance with the city's
911 operators directing calls to police, fire or ambulance

This is emergency call taker and dispatcher week in British Columbia, with the province paying its respects to those who tend to the emergency lines and provide for the first point of contact for the public when they are in their most need.

The opportunity to pay respect to the province's emergency call takers and dispatchers was offered to North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice who spoke of their work in the Legislature on Tuesday.

"This week, we celebrate Emergency Service Dispatchers and 911 Awareness Week in British Columbia. We are recognizing the vital role B.C. emergency health services call takers and dispatchers play in providing interfacility and emergency medical care to British Columbians

Emergency medical dispatchers and call takers work under extreme amounts of pressure. They must quickly decode information provided by often highly emotional and distressed callers, determine the patient's level of illness or injury and make rapid-fire decisions in order to send the appropriate level of medical response. 

They are the calm, reassuring voice on the line when a frantic parent's six-month-old infant has stopped breathing, a bystander has witnessed a terrible car crash or a loved one has overdosed. They guide callers through performing CPR, relieving airway obstructions and delivering babies. They help to save lives, and we are grateful for them"

Towards observance of the week E-Comm 911 the Vancouver based emergency dispatch service has provided a list of five myths related to  911 calls in the province for residents to review.

As well, CUPEBC which represents those who work at the emergency call taker centres outlines some of the background to their jobs here.

In Prince Rupert the first line of contact for emergency calls comes out of the Prince Rupert Fire Hall, where up to seven 911 operators work in shifts around the clock route the calls for assistance to the proper service whether it be Police, Fire or Ambulance.

The City's 911 Dispatch service recently posted a causal position which provides a glimpse at the range of duties.

For more notes about the work of Emergency Responders in the Northwest see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review