Bulloch County 911 operators are being celebrated this week as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week unfolds, but that doesn’t mean the work load will lighten.
Bulloch County 911 operators – all 15 of them – will remain quite busy fielding thousands of calls daily from callers in three counties, said Bulloch County 911 Director Kelly Barnard.
The agency handles calls in not only Bulloch County, but Evans and Candler counties as well. Often calls to other counties are also fielded.
“Bulloch/Evans/Candler County E-911 receives an average of 6,100 calls per month,” she said. “Last month we had 6,353 … calls that resulted in 5,757 case cards being generated. This means that something happened in the three counties where law enforcement, fire department, EMS or another agency is needed.”
Many times, especially when there is no emergency at the moment, people do not realize the importance of 911 operators.
The operators are always appreciated by agencies working closely with 911, but this week, that appreciation is reflected through gestures such as special meals provided for each shift, she said.
“Air Evac is also providing meals for the operators” as an added token of appreciation, she said.
“In my mind, 911 operators are the true first responders” to an emergency call, said Bulloch County Public Safety Director Ted Wynn. “They do a tremendous job, have a lot of experience. We are very proud of the job they do for the citizens as well as all the agencies.”
There are three or four communications officers on duty at all times, Barnard said. “Communications officers are the front line of the emergency response system. All calls, big or small, start with communications officers.”
When an emergency strikes, most people instinctively dial 911.
Taking the call
An operator takes the call, often dealing with high emotions and panic, and collect basic information as they or other operators contact appropriate agencies and send help as quickly as possible. Help is usually already on the way as the 911 operator keeps the caller on the line, gathering information that could mean lives are saved.
“More than half of our staff have more than 10 years of experience each. Barnard said. “Three of our employees have more than 20 years’ experience. These dispatchers are still doing the job because they love the job and they want to help their community.”
Currently, Bulloch County 911 operators are Barnard, Judy Smith, Kerri Borgman, Mary Ann Rich, Tammie Bolton, Robert Fail, Andrew Freeman, Deniese Brown, Nicole Rushing, Laurie Waters, Brittany Avery, Michael Ansell, Rebekah Duncan, Tia Bacon and Nancy Akins.
“No one dials 911 because they are having a good day and want to wish us the same.” Barnard said. “They are dialing 911 because something tragic has happened and they need help.”
Too many prank calls
All too often, however, 911 operators are tied up with prank or hang-up calls. The numbers of these calls have increased drastically over the past several months, but authorities haven’t learned the reason why. A huge problem are cell phones that may have expired service, but still may be used to dial 911 in an emergency.
Many people do not realize that these phones can still send calls to 911 in spite of not having any “minutes” or service on them, she said.
“Daily we deal with the issue of cellular telephones that have been upgraded or pre-paid cellular phones with no minutes. These phones can dial 911. This function allows a caller to contact the 911 call center in an emergency even when the phone is non-active or has no minutes.”
The call is only a one way call and dispatchers cannot return the call to ensure the caller is OK. “Some people do not realize that when they give these old phones to their children to play with, they can be causing an issue of children calling repeatedly and when we are tied up with these calls, the real emergency calls may be delayed,” Barnard said.
Some of these calls are accidental but often, they are intentional. “Just last weekend we had a child that called the 911 center more than 160 times during a 12 hour shift. The child would call 911, curse the 911 operator and hang up.”
It is illegal to intentionally try to tie up the 911 center with non-emergency calls. If a call is traced, charges could be filed.
Last month alone, Bulloch County 911 had over 1,855 hang-up calls. “Each time someone calls and hangs up we must attempt to make contact with the caller and verify that there is no emergency. Some of these calls we can get a GPS coordinates from the phone. This means that we can send help even if we can’t call them back.”
Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.