VIDEO: This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, or in other words, 911 Dispatcher Appreciation Week. It is a time dedicated to thanking our 911 dispatchers for the hard work they do 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 day a year. At the Ada County Dispatch Center in Meridian, staff celebrate with a “Tikis and Totem” theme. Among the tropical flowers and torches are people dedicated to making sure Ada County residents get the help they need at all hours of the day and night.
Depending on the nature of the 911 call, they coordinate firefighters, paramedics or police to a scene. They also provide lifesaving instructions like how to perform CPR or how to stop bleeding. Captain Zachary Walls oversees the Ada County Emergency Communications Bureau. He said it is important to recognize those who answer our 911 calls. We often take for granted the that when we call 911 that somebody is going to answer the phone, you know. When we do call and those folks answer, you know, they’re also providing lifesaving information in the few minutes that it takes to get field units on scene at an incident,” Walls said.
