JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An emergency dispatcher with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department received top honors on Friday.
JFRD dispatcher Alonda Oates was recognized nationally for helping save a woman trapped in a house fire. Oates has been named the 2022 National Telecommunicator of the Year by APCO International — the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals.
Raleigh, N.C. — A Raleigh 911 dispatcher says public safety could be at risk if work conditions don’t improve.
She’s leaving the job, burnt out from chronic staff shortages and low pay.
“The job is stressful to start with, even under the best conditions,” said Beth Fulks, who has worked as a 911 dispatcher in the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center for six years.
At one point during the call, the trapped woman becomes unable to communicate. JFRD says Alonda Oates stays on the line and continues to speak to her anyway.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Editor’s Note: Some elements in this story may be disturbing to some.
Only a few short months since it was established, the Texas Emergency Communications Center, which serves as the 911 dispatch center for five volunteer fire departments in northern Harris County, has achieved a noteworthy milestone.
Courtesy Nancy Organ(FORT SMITH, Ark.) — A former Arkansas 911 dispatcher was cleared of wrongdoing following accusations that she mishandled a call with a drowning woman and told her to “shut up” just moments before she died.
