Each year, the second full week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as public safety telecommunicators during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW). During the week of April 10-16, we honored the often-unsung heroes of public safety — our dispatchers — who serve our communities, citizens, and public safety personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every emergency that a police officer or firefighter responds to either starts with, or is handled by, one of our public safety dispatchers. They are truly on the front line, and are generally the first person a citizen deals with during a crisis.

Scarborough is very fortunate to be one of only 24 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in the State of Maine. This means that when a 911 call comes in for the Town of Scarborough, it generally is routed directly to us, without the additional step of being transferred from another agency. There are a minimum of two dispatchers working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and more during peak times or significant events.

“Our Public Safety dispatchers are an integral part of our daily operations and the fabric of our organization,” said Scarborough Police Chief Mark Holmquist. “They assume the responsibility of being the life line to our citizens in need of emergency services and our first responders who rely upon them for accurate, timely information while responding to incidents.”

The dispatchers’ duties don’t stop at just answering 911 calls. They also include dispatching police, fire, and rescue services, coordinating efforts with the Public Works Department, Community Services, and the Sanitary District. They answer the business phone lines with general questions and complaints, greet citizens in the lobby of the Public Safety Building, and several other tasks as assigned by the officers and firefighters.

Our dispatchers played a critical role in serving our community during the height of the pandemic. Each dispatcher was tasked with screening calls to help crews determine the level of risk associated with a particular call for service. “These professionals were instrumental in keeping our crews healthy while responding to the COVID-19 environment,” said Scarborough Fire Chief Rich Kindelan. “As our dispatchers usually do, they took this task seriously and made it appear seamless.”

Although our dispatchers never know what might be happening on the other end of the line each time they answer the phone, you can be assured whether it is as straightforward as a lost dog or as complex as a structure fire, the professionals in Scarborough’s Public Safety Dispatch Center are prepared to answer your call. They pride themselves on their work and take personal accountability in making sure our citizens and first responders are safe.

During National Telecommunicators Week we made an extra effort to salute and thank them for the critical service they provide to our community. To celebrate them during the week, each day, one of the public safety agencies we serve provided a gift or shift meal for the dispatchers. All four agencies, Scarborough PD, FD, and Old Orchard PD and FD participated. There were additional themes for each day where dispatchers were honored or given special attention for the work they do day in and day out.

“Chiefs Holmquist and Kindelan want to commend our entire public safety dispatcher team for their patience, professionalism, and for their unwavering commitment to serving and protecting the citizens of Scarborough, Old Orchard, and Buxton. Most importantly, they clearly understand the responsibility of ensuring all of us in the street (Police, Fire, EMS) make it home to our loved ones after each shift.”

 

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