The job of an Emergency Communicator is a rewarding one

By Simon Roy

“911-urgence, do you need police, fire or ambulance?”

That’s the response on the other end of the line when you dial the emergency number and the voice you hear may even be mine.

In recognition of National  Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 8 – 14, I’m going to give you an inside look at the Ottawa Police Service Communications Centre.

Communications Centre by the numbers:

The Communications Centre operates 24/7. Each clerk is assigned to a platoon and we work the same schedule as the patrol officers. I’m currently with E Platoon.

I work alongside about fifteen people and we take turns manning all of the stations in the Communications Centre. In an eleven-hour shift, I will change duties two or three times.

If I’m dispatching, I’m responsible for sending officers to emergency and non-emergency calls across the city. When I’m the call taker, I answer both 911 and police calls. I don’t know which line is coming in, as my headset automatically picks up the call as soon as it is received. It could be someone who is calling about damage to their property or I could be dealing with a life-threatening situation.

Regardless of whether you need an officer, paramedic or the fire department, all 911 calls are initially answered by the Ottawa Police Service before they are downloaded to the appropriate first responder.

You probably didn’t know this, but 911 calls come in on dedicated lines. That means if you aren’t having an emergency, your call is using a line reserved for 911 calls, even if I transfer you. That’s why if you have called with a non-emergency, I will direct you to hang up and phone back at the appropriate number.

Unintentional dials account for 50,000 calls that come into the 911 centre. People are often embarrassed and hang up, but if you do call 911 by accident, stay on the line, so I can ask a few questions and clear the call. Otherwise, I have to trace the phone number and call you back, which can take precious time away from real emergencies.

As the first person you reach when you have an emergency, I never know what kind of help is needed when I pick up the phone. In just a few hours, I can take calls for a robbery, an assault, a shoplifter, a break and enter in progress and a fender bender.

I’m here to ensure you get whatever help you need. I understand you are upset, confused or frightened and sometimes people get annoyed at the questions I ask, but they are necessary so I can get the right resources to you as quickly as possible. Please don’t hang up while I ask them.

Over my nine year career, some calls make me feel really good about helping my community, like a missing person being located safe and sound, but others are absolutely gut-wrenching. Emergency Communicators are well-trained to keep you calm in an emergency and not to react ourselves, but it’s hard to shut off my emotions. 

My most memorable call was the shooting at the Cenotaph on October 22, 2014. I will always remember gathering information from a witness just after it happened and then the remaining eight hours of my shift being chaotic. The Communications Centre staff worked as a team to support the officers who responded to this call while ensuring all other calls for service that day were answered and appropriately dealt with. On days like this, I feel like we are a family.

There is the lighter side of dispatching calls too. For some reason, turkeys don‘t like police officers. It certainly brightens the mood when you hear an officer calling for back up because they’re being chased around their cruiser by a turkey.

My job is so rewarding when I know I contributed to a bad guy getting caught or I helped someone in distress. I’m responsible for sending help to you and I am proud to have that responsibility.

At the end of the day, I’m here to help the citizens of Ottawa. That’s what I love about my job. Knowing that because of me, someone can move on with their day or learned something they can apply to making their life better. It makes me want to come back to work every day to do it all over again. Doing the math, I figure I still have at least 21 more years of helping people and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

We are both the early birds and the night owls, because regardless of the time of day, someone will always be there to answer your call.

For more information on choosing a career as an Emergency Communicator with the Ottawa Police Service please click this link: https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/about-us/911-Communications-Centre.asp