Our own people who rely on us in the most critical of moments, believing we are not first responders, adds yet another weight onto our already overloaded shoulders

What is a true first responder? Many would say it only encompasses exactly what is in the phrase “first responder.” Someone who shows up first on scene to an emergency. This is a very narrow definition and one that has kept dispatchers from being recognized as true first responders not only federally, but at state levels and sometimes even within their own agencies. 

READ FULL ARTICLE