CLEARFIELD – Telecommunicators at Clearfield County 911 will be recognized along with more than 200,000 of their fellow telecommunicators nationwide April 12-18 during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
At Tuesday’s regular board meeting, the Clearfield County Commissioners voted to approve this week as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
“These silent heroes of public safety are more than just a voice on the other end of the line,” said 911 Coordinator Jeremy Ruffner in a press release to local media in advance of the commissioners’ meeting. “They often save lives on a daily basis.”
He said that Clearfield County telecommunicators are challenged on a daily basis with life-and-death situations.
“They are expected to handle these stressful situations with compassion, empathy and professionalism,” he said, “and must be at their best while dealing with people who may be at their worst in many cases.
“People don’t usually call for help when they are having their best day. By the nature of the business, they deal with people who have been victimized or need medical assistance.
“They may be threatening and belligerent, or in some cases, not able to communicate at all, other than dialing 911 with their last bit of strength, in an attempt to get help.”
Ruffner said telecommunicators in Clearfield County provide a critical service to residents by dispatching law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical services and other emergency responders 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He said Clearfield County 911 employs 22 telecommunicators. In 2019, they answered 118,012 calls for assistance. The Clearfield County 911 Center provides dispatch services for 13 police, 14 EMS and 37 fire agencies county-wide.