The Courage of 911 Dispatchers
911 dispatchers have a critical and high-risk day-to-day job. Every day, there are around 200 phone calls for a single dispatcher. Some calls are accidents or regular tasks, but some are pressing and urgent that can lead to a long night of work. Their shifts are often 8-12 hours, and some days, the phone calls can be non-stop. Nationwide, dispatch centers handle an average of 600,000 to 650,000 calls daily.
911 dispatcher Tristian Smith during an interview stated how “during this job you just have to remember that no matter what happens, all you can do is your best and you can’t always have complete control over the outcome of every situation, because outside of work you have to understand that once you clock out and go home, any issues you dealt with are over and you can’t let it impact the way you handle your personal life.” This quote and experience Smith describes connects to Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping. This model posits that people evaluate stressful situations and use coping strategies to manage them. Here, dispatchers cannot control the outcome of every emergency, but they can control how they respond during a call and after their shift. Since dispatchers remain calm and rely on their training, they protect their emotional well-being while continuing to perform effectively at the job itself. They also create boundaries between work and personal life to guard their state of mind.
Dispatching calls for active listening and high amounts of awareness. They record the exact location and severity of the situation. After that, they dispatch the appropriate police, fire, or medical units, and provide callers with instructions as they wait for their help to arrive. Some examples include guiding them through CPR, where to press down to control bleeding, or moving someone to a safer place if there is an intruder. When callers are young or especially distressed, dispatchers may distract them by asking about familiar or comforting parts of their lives. Dispatchers may also ask follow-up questions to gather clear and accurate information for emergency responders. This requires patience, because callers may be reluctant to share details or may become so overwhelmed that they freeze. Even during frightening or tragic situations, dispatchers must remain calm and focused, while also reassuring the callers.
911 dispatchers demonstrate moral courage because they serve as the crucial link between people in danger and the help they need. Their calm decisions and clear communication skills help others and save lives every single day.