Douglas honors 911 dispatchers

The search for a missing Gardnerville girl joined the menagerie of medical calls and traffic stops that populate dispatchers’ day-to-day work lives.

This is National Public Safety Telecommunicators’ Week across the nation, honoring public safety dispatchers and operators across the nation.

“A 911 dispatcher is the first person you talk to when you need help,” Sheriff Dan Coverley said on Monday. “We have great dispatchers here in Douglas County who help citizens every day get the resources they need and save lives. I am truly grateful for their dedication and service. They are a vital role to public safety and to this community.”

In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, 911 dispatchers based out of Minden work with both the East Fork and Tahoe-Douglas fire protection districts, the Washoe Tribe and Alpine County.

Douglas County 911 Emergency Services Director Ron Sagen said they are the “first-first responder.”

“The Emergency Communication Specialist is the vital link between the public and the field responder whether that is sheriff, fire or paramedic response,” Sagen said. “Emergency assistance is not on scene when we answer the call.  Douglas County 911 communications has gone above and beyond what is required for public safety communications.”

Dispatchers are a rare breed, a calm voice in a catastrophe bringing a light touch to those in the most need and expressing with only a slight change of tone information that first responders require when they arrive at the scene.

They are the closest thing to broadcast stars in Douglas County, where a significant number of residents listen to their reports in real time, either with an emergency radio or using one of the scanner applications on the phone.

And over the past two years, they also managed to shine through the pandemic by achieving accreditation through the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch.

“We maintained an international accreditation, even through a world-wide pandemic and a serious staffing shortage, the accreditation ensures we are meeting the public’s expectations when they need help,” Sagen said. “Staff works hard around the clock to meet the life safety needs of residents and visitors alike, long hours are the norm, but well worth the effort.”

A report issued last month to Douglas County commissioners on staffing said the Emergency Communications Department is short seven dispatchers, or 40 percent of their complement.

The number of applicants for the position went from 82 in 2020-21 for three positions to 14 for one position.

Applicants are required to pass a skills test that washes out half to three-quarters of them before they even get to an interview.

“Once a position is filled, the new hire undergoes extensive training for six months before they are able to staff calls without direct supervision,” according to the report. “Currently, the department is using supervisory team members to maintain operations levels of service.”

Maintaining the departments accreditation helps lower insurance rates for home owners and businesses.