VIDEO: Monday was National EMT and Paramedic Appreciation Day, and the start of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. All week long, telecommunicators across the nation are being recognized for their lifesaving roles.
"We're considered critical infrastructure, we are what connects the public to the first responders," said Penobscot Regional Communications Center Supervisor, Kendrick McCarthy. "We handle approximately 65 thousand 911 calls in the State of Maine, approximately a quarter of a million business line calls and over a million radio transmissions."
At the Penobscot County Regional Communication Center they have a team of nearly 30 dispatchers. They say their jobs go far beyond answering 911 calls.