SAN ANGELO, Texas — In an emergency situation, you dial 9-1-1. From there, a dispatcher answers your call and sends help. They are the unsung heroes serving their community year round.
“We’re the voice in the dark, we’re the ones who get what they need, get help to them as soon as we can,” San Angelo Public Safety Communications Dispatcher, Lauren Connor, said.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was proclaimed by former President Bill Clinton in 1994. Dispatchers work hard year round, rain or shine, day and night, to help those who need it the most.
“That phone call comes in, you don't know if it’s a domestic, you don't know if it’s a vehicle accident, you don't know if it’s someone who lost their wallet so that phone call comes in you have to be ready to start dealing with whatever comes across on that phone call,” San Angelo Police Department Public Safety Communications Supervisor, Sgt. Chris Carpenter, said.
In 2019, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to classify dispatchers as police responders, which means they are classified the same as law enforcement officers, EMS and firefighters.
Lauren Connor worked in Amarillo for two years as a dispatcher before making her move to San Angelo. She explains every call is different.
“I got to help deliver a baby, that was really exciting but then sometimes you're the last voice someone hears and you're the last person to hear their voice,” she said.
Connor said during a call you don't have time to express feelings or emotions on call after call, because if you let the emotions drain you, it can affect the next call and you can miss something important.
She said a simple thank you goes a long way.
“This is an extremely thankless job, we almost never get told good job, so even the one time that we hear that out of 100 it really pushes us to keep going,” Connor said.