A multi-car pile-up or a blazing chemical fire can put North Carolina’s telecommunicators to the test. They are trained to remain calm and communicate clearly as they relay information to first responders. Because of them, lives are saved and calamities controlled.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 10 to 16, honored the workers and their profession.
Department of Public Safety telecommunicators work for Emergency Management, State Capitol Police and the State Highway Patrol.
“We are masters of teamwork,” said Andrea Lowe, first shift supervisor for the State Highway Patrol’s telecommunicators covering troops A, C and D. “Troopers on the radio are our priority. If a trooper is on the scene of an accident and needs fire, EMS or a tow truck, we assist them.”
While SHP Telecommunicator Kelly Mizelle was taking a call about a box in a road, fellow telecommunicator Jennifer Poist explained, “We get a lot of calls about debris in the road – limbs, mattresses, bumpers. Just this morning we have taken calls about a generator, a water heater and plastic tarps in the road.”
Lowe said mattresses often go airborne from the tops of cars, and they get many calls about furniture and lumber in the road. Telecommunicator Ray Robles, who covers Troop A Greenville, said he gets frequent calls about animals in the roadways -- horses, cows, goats.
“Nothing really surprises us anymore,” Lowe said. “We got a call this morning about someone picking flowers in the median. That’s against the law and we had to send a trooper.”
Emergency Management’s 24-hour emergency operations center eight telecommunicators take calls for hazardous materials incidents, severe weather, search and rescue requests, chemical spills and more. They are busiest during severe weather events such as tornados, floods, hurricanes and winter storms.
“We take calls from local emergency management agencies when they have a need for state resources,” EM telecommunicator Robin Dail said. “We’re here to take those calls and get them the state resources they need.”
Evelyse Camacho answers the State Capitol Police’s emergency call line, 919-733-3333. She handles dispatch calls for state employees working in Wake County who may be in physical distress or a victim of theft. She takes calls for problems with state government buildings such as break-ins, floods or fire. As a telecommunicator, Camacho not only takes calls for state government operations within Wake County, she also monitors fire and burglar alarms for state-owned facilities across North Carolina.
Public safety telecommunicators calm angry 911 callers and are critical during countless emergencies.
“Our law enforcement officers and first responders depend on telecommunicators’ quick reaction to emergencies,” said Gov. Pat McCrory. “We can’t thank them enough for staying on top of events. They are key to our public safety and deserving of praise, not just this week, but every day of the year.”