COPYRIGHT 2023 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
JASPER COUNTY, Mo.- Here's what a day in the life of a 911 Jasper County Dispatch Operator looks like.
Brandon McClintock is the operations manager for Jasper County Dispatch.
McClintock has been a 911 operator for more than 15 years.
The shift starts with a debriefing meeting; updating the morning crew on what the night crew noticed while working.
Usually, operators head straight to the call room right after the debriefing meeting.
Multitasking is one of the biggest skills a 911 operator should sharpen constantly. “There's so much multitasking going on. They're using so many different programs,” said McClintock. “They're doing so many different things.” 911 operators are constantly listening and ingesting information; it can be hard to turn their ears off after work. “Sometimes you'll be sitting at a restaurant and you may hear five other conversations that are going on around you, too. So you kind of pick up on those different things and they just kind of stick with you,” said McClintock.
Teamwork is an important aspect of a successful 911 center. Usually, 3 operators are on duty at all times. Jasper County Dispatch is looking to add more operators on shifts. Whenever the operators experience a bad call, they rely on each other for understanding and support. After all, no one will understand a 911 operator more than another 911 operator.
When an operator answers a call, they have to ask question after question. Sometimes, according to McClintock, people can forget that the operators are asking questions to help… not delay help. “People when they call in here, they're having usually the worst day of their life. So you can't take it personally,” said McClintock. “All you can really do is make sure that you're doing the best for them, reassure them, help, and make sure that they understand that the questions that you're asking them are important and that we're asking them for a reason, and that it's not delaying any type of response from our unit.”
COPYRIGHT 2023 BY KOAM NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
Amber is from Raeford, North Carolina, and spent her college years in the Appalachian mountains at Western Carolina University. She graduated with double concentrations in Broadcasting and Journalism with a minor in Computer Information Systems. During Amber’s time there, she worked in IT repairing computers and as a radio host for her classic rock radio program. Amber joined KOAM’s team to learn and grow as a reporter. When she’s not working, Amber is hanging out with her chihuahua or playing video games.
