Please join us in thanking our Public Safety Dispatchers for the very important role they play in ensuring we all get the right help in the most expeditious manner. When it comes to first responders, our call-takers and dispatchers are the tip of the spear for more than 99% of all emergencies. These men and women must be the voice of reassurance and calm to get accurate information to relay to Police, Fire and Medical Services personnel so they can respond quickly, safely and with the most appropriate resources. 

The personnel that work at the Knox County Regional Communications Center are too often left out of the news story when praise is being heaped on responders who took care of the incident. Those of us who work in public safety know how valuable accurate information is to our action plans, and it all starts with the person who answers the call to 911 and broadcasts that information to us.

Our communications personnel are tucked away in a secure building, devoid of much outside human interaction during their shift. The information at their fingertips is protected for privacy and the work requires outside distractions be heavily minimized. This means that most shifts they will only have face-to-face interactions with a handful of people. While they may talk to hundreds on the phone, most often the caller is experiencing a stressful situation making these conversations far from positive. Dispatchers work very hard to gain control of the situation to glean the requisite information needed. Make no mistake, these personnel handle the most difficult calls a person can take. The agony of waiting for help to arrive is shared between the caller who needs help and the dispatcher who has passes on that information to the responders and then waits to hear someone has arrived to help the caller. Seconds seem like minutes, minutes like hours to someone who knows help is needed, but hasn’t yet arrived.  

This week is National Telecommunicators Week, and those of us who rely on these folks want to thank them for telling us where to go, what we need to bring, what we can expect to find, and what difficulties may impede our mission. The dedicated staff at the Knox County Regional Communications Center deserve our praise for making sure we get where we’re needed and home again, 24/7/365. If you ever been thankful for great EMS service, a fire that was quickly controlled or a situation where law enforcement made the difference, you most likely have a dispatcher to thank, as well!

From, the Police, Fire and EMS Executive Board representatives to the KRCC Users Group.

Chris Farley                                                                Craig Cooley

Chair, Fire Representative                                          Vice-Chair, Law Enforcement Representative

Camden Fire Department                                           Rockport Police Department

Chris Young                                                               Jesse Thompson

Law Enforcement Representative                               EMS Representative

Rockland Police Department                                      Union EMS

Rusty Barnard                                                             Adam Miceli

EMS Representative                                                   Fire Representative

Rockland Fire/EMS                                                    Rockland Fire/EMS

Ray Sisk                                                                     

Knox County Emergency Management Agency Representative

Knox County