words per minute
24
NeelSharma
00:00
Speed
This is something I don't talk about but think about often. It was the middle of the night for "normal" people, for me it was just before my lunch break. There was a lull in call volume as there is every night, when people decide to go to bed and stop calling 911. There's the occasional report of a car accident, medical incident, or sounds of gunshots that usually end up to be fireworks especially in July. On this night, though, a citizen didn't call in sounds of gunshots; that was our officers directly to the dispatcher. They followed a suspect vehicle and ended up getting into a pursuit with that vehicle. Then into an accident. Anyone who is familiar with how a comm center works knows not much information goes into a call screen or incident window and that makes it very hard to keep up, especially on a fast moving incident. I remember having the incident window open to track what was happening as we all do when it's slow. I remember the remark entered about the accident, but there was no indication as to who was actually involved. After a time that probably seemed much longer in my head, the police dispatcher yells to the fire dispatcher to start medics, which for our agency means ALS. The incident was copied to now include the fire department to respond with two medics, then eventually three. There was still no remark entered as to what was really going on so you just sit there wondering, imaging the worst case scenario. Well, for me the worst case scenario wasn't even close to the real horrific events that took place that night. I've lost all concept at time at this point but can remember the police dispatcher state gravely but with urgency, "Copy. CPR on an officer." The entire room let out a unison gasp followed by a brief moment when no one could speak before information had to be aired to units and 911 calls had to be answered. We don't get the luxury of even 10 seconds to wrap our minds around what's going on because we still need to be ready for other emergency situations that don't wait for a convenient time to arise. The atmosphere in the room is something I will never be able to fully explain. There's a sense of disbelief, grief, drive, hope, and so many other emotions I don' even know if they have names. While I'm personally trying to process this, a 911 call drops in my ear. "Take a breath, take the call, get them help" is what I told myself. I was so ready to do this when a man came on my line, barely awake and starts with "I know this isn't an emergency, but my neighbors are playing their music too loud again" and I just stare at my screen for a second before asking for his address and taking the rest of the needed information to enter this incident. It felt so wrong to take my attention away from my coworker who lost his life to enter a complaint about loud music, but that's the reality of the job. We don't get to choose what happens to whom when, and we don't get to choose what someone feels they need emergency help with. We're trained to take the day one call at a time, not let a bad call interfere with the rest of your shift. Easier said than done.