Page 112 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2019

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI
when to dial
Hello
story by Lynn Lofton911
Hello, 911. What is your emergency? What’s your location?
Those will be the first questions asked when you call 911. You likely may be upset, excited, stressed — even screaming — but the 911 dispatcher is trained to stay calm while getting the necessary information to respond to the situation. As Jackson County Emergency Director George Sholl put it, “No one dials 911 for fun.”
Hancock County 911 Dispatch Director Tracy Borja says, “The job
of 911 dispatcher is very stressful;
you never know what you’re going to hear. If callers are screaming, it may be hard for us to find out what’s going on. Don’t get mad if you’re asked to calm down; we’re trying to help.”
Borja points out that the hardest part is not knowing the outcome of the emergency calls. “We rarely get that information.”
Harrison County Emergency Director Rupert Lacy explains the training that 911 dispatchers go through. “There
are standards that must be upheld through the State Telecommunications Training Board, and dispatchers are mandated to have some continuing training each year,” he said. “Dealing with upset callers is part of that training.”
In addition to the first two questions, there are other questions that must
be asked to determine who should respond. If it’s a medical emergency, those questions may include: what’s the level of consciousness, is there bleeding, is the person cold and clammy, or hot and sweaty? “The dispatcher is doing a physical
inspection of the person by phone and at the same time getting whomever should be dispatched,” Lacy said. “They (dispatchers) can even walk someone through CPR.”
Lacy, Sholl and Borja all affirm that even though the call is passed over to the proper responding agency, the dispatcher stays on the phone and continues to gather helpful information.
“It truly should be an emergency when you call 911,” Borja said. “We get a lot of non-emergency calls because people don’t know the other county numbers to call.”
However, she noted that the definition of an emergency may differ from person to person. “Everybody reacts differently to what is an emergency in their world.”
Now that everyone has a cell phone, more 911 calls are made. “We may get 30 calls reporting the same accident whereas before there would be one or two,” Sholl said. “Each call must be answered. Cell phones are a mixed blessing because we can’t necessarily know where you are. That’s why the question is quickly asked about your location.”
When to Call 911
A 911 emergency is when someone needs help right away because of an injury or an immediate danger. For example, call 911 if:
There’s a fire
Someone has passed out
Someone suddenly seems very sick and is having a hard time speaking or breathing
Someone is choking
You see a crime happening, like a break-in
You are in or see a serious car accident
For non-emergency calls, call your local police department’s non- emergency line.
112 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • July 2019
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