Photo By Scott Sturkol | Aaron Demarte, public safety dispatcher with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency...... read more read more
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If someone dials 911 at Fort McCoy, someone is always there to answer, said Supervisory Public Safety Dispatcher Richard Kingsbury with the Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Central 911 Communications/Security Center.
The center, also referred to as DES Dispatch Center at the installation, has maintained its coverage and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, Kingsbury said.
“It was important to keep the dispatch center operational 24/7 to provide support to the Fort McCoy community,” Kingsbury said. “Going forward, it will be business as usual with the operation of the center always providing that 24/7 coverage.”
As the supervisory dispatcher, Kingsbury must possess a working knowledge of fire and emergency services as well as law enforcement operations and the related terms and techniques for those operations.
“A public safety dispatcher’s duties includes providing emergency police, fire, and medical services to the public by answering emergency 911 calls and responding with appropriate personnel and equipment,” Kingsbury said.
Brandie Stello, lead public safety dispatcher at the center, said each dispatcher has an important responsibility when receiving calls to the center.
“Each dispatcher is responsible for caller interrogation to determine the problem and the nature of the call,” Stello said. “Dispatchers prioritize all incoming emergency and non-emergency calls, identify the nature of emergency and the level of response required, and they provide this and any additional information to the responding units.”
Dispatchers use a variety of emergency communications and electronic equipment to complete their duties. This includes equipment that is commonly used by police, fire, ambulance, rescue, or hazardous materials units.
“We also continuously monitor the installation’s alarmed facilities, which are linked to our dispatch site,” Stello said. “We have to determine causes of an alarm, type of facility, and initiate action in accordance with procedures set for that type of facility.”
Dispatchers can also provide emergency medical dispatching assistance to callers with medical emergencies.
“We verify the location (and) call-back number for the incident and then determine the patient’s chief complaint, age, and status of consciousness and breathing,” Stello said. “Caller information may indicate that the patient is unconscious and not breathing, and then we initiate an immediate, appropriate emergency response.
“A caller may be instructed, over the phone, on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the Heimlich maneuver, emergency childbirth, opening an airway, or controlling bleeding,” Stello said. “We maintain continuous telephone contact with caller, when appropriate, during emergency situations and give instructions regarding what to do, and what not to do, prior to the arrival of an ambulance.”
Aaron Demarte, a DES public safety dispatcher, said he’s enjoyed his duties at the center.
“Working as a 911 dispatcher has been very rewarding to me these last few years as I enjoy helping people to the best of my ability,” Demarte said. “Getting people the help that they need has been challenging at times, but also knowing that you can help save someone’s life can be very rewarding.
“I love coming to work every day and really enjoy it here at Fort McCoy, especially with my fellow dispatchers,” he said. “In my opinion, this dispatch section is the best I have experienced throughout my 20-year career in both law enforcement and dispatching.”
Working since the pandemic started has been a bit different, but no service or support was ever degraded, Stello said.
“With our job, it is impossible to telework,” Stello said. “We are essential to the safety of all personnel on the installation. … The pandemic has changed how we respond to calls and what questions to ask. For example, we ask many COVID-19-related questions. Until recently, actually, during the pandemic, we have not been as busy as we normally would be since a lot of people have been teleworking, and we haven’t had all the military members training as we normally would have until recently.”
Demarte said he believes every dispatcher adapted well to the changes to operations the pandemic brought.
“One example of changes was getting used to routinely taking my body temperature and other preventive measures before stepping into the dispatch center,” Demarte said. “Another example was not knowing what the future was going to bring to our section if someone was to get infected. Our leadership then came up with a detailed plan on how we would respond, which relieved some stress from our dispatch center.”
Kingsbury added, “Dispatch has continued operations as normal. And mutual-aid and ambulatory services have run as normal with the exception of COVID questioning prior to the units arriving on scene.
“We have a great group of dispatchers here with great camaraderie and teamwork,” Kingsbury said. “As a supervisor, they are a pleasure to supervise. And together, we will continue providing that 24/7 service for our community.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services each year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2020 17:15 |
| Story ID: | 376866 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WI, US |
| Hometown: | WAKEFIELD, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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