La Plata County Communications Center, struggling with understaffed operations, is seeking two full-time emergency dispatchers to lift the weight off current staff members’ shoulders.

Law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical services engage in a team sport, figuratively, said Durango Police Cmdr. Casey Malone. Key team players are 911 dispatchers who answer calls, collect information and alert responders to emergency situations.

The La Plata County Communications Center, headquarters of 911 dispatch services, held an open house Thursday with hopes of recruiting two more team players. The center is currently staffed 24/7 with 11 dispatchers.

Malone said that without 911 dispatchers, police, fire and other emergency services couldn’t do their jobs.

“The ball starts here ...,” he said. “We like to think that we’re all one big family and we all work together and we all help each other and care for each other.”

Malone said the small group of 911 dispatchers is committed to working extra hours, covering vacant shifts and accepting additional time on the job. They are sacrificing their time to keep the community safe, and the communications center’s biggest challenge is trying not to wear them out.

He said dispatchers are a “calm in the storm.” They often deal with hysterical callers confronted with an emergency – whether it be medical, crime or fire-related – and it is their job to pull information out of the chaos and relay it to responders who can help.

“I just watched one of these dispatchers take a call from what sounded (like) someone that was hysterical that had a family member that was having a seizure,” Malone said. “And so she’s (the dispatcher) got to be able to communicate to someone that’s very upset and quickly becoming frustrated at her because they don’t view the importance of the questions she’s asking.”

Dana Baily, operations manager for the communication center, said the job requires a thick skin and the ability to multitask.

“A lot of times these people call in, they are very hysterical, so you do have to be able to listen to them and understand what they’re saying and get that out to the officers and the deputies and EMS and firefighters,” she said. “They are the glue (that holds emergency services together).”

Malone said the information the dispatcher was asking for would be relayed to first responders. Despite the caller’s frustrations, the dispatcher had to remain calm and get vital information to help responders arrive at the scene prepared.

He said 911 dispatching requires an “above-level” communications skill.

“It’s a unique skill set that not a lot of people have,” he said. “To watch them work, it’s impressive. It’s always been impressive to me.”

Jeremy Tomei, 911 shift supervisor, said only two to three dispatchers are on shift at a time, and it’s been like that for about a year. Ideally, the communications center would be staffed with four dispatchers (one for police, one for sheriff’s deputies, one for city fire response and one for county fire response).

“That way things are dispersed better,” he said. “We already have a lot going on here. So having to monitor channels because we are only two people here is definitely a challenge. Getting more hands in here, getting people in here is definitely going to help to lower the workload that is on each person.”

He said dispatchers monitor radios, phones and multiple screens of information while they are on shift. They juggle 911 calls, police and sheriff’s deputy units on the road, and emergency question prompts that guide them through fire and medical emergencies.

“While you’re looking at all these screens, you’ve got your radio going, you’re taking notes for the officers, you’re putting out calls, you’re taking calls,” Tomei said.

He said 911 dispatchers are the “first, first responders” – they are able to provide instructions about CPR or to someone going through labor while medical personnel are possibly 10 to 20 minutes away from the scene.

“It’s a very rewarding occupation,” he said. “It’s stressful at times because we are doing a ton of stuff here, but at the end of the day, it is very rewarding.”

The center is hiring for a Level 1 and a Level 2 emergency dispatcher, with sign-on bonuses of $2,500 and $10,000, respectively. The jobs’ full requirements, descriptions and applications are online at https://bit.ly/3NOeIqa.

cburney@durangoherald.com