mrsmiller121810

When I first got hired I had a 2 week "academy" at the dispatch center. It's taught by admin and dispatchers. Then I was placed with a certified training officer/dispatcher for about 6-8 weeks while being taught how to be a call taker. After that I moved on to several different radios and after about 18 months I had learned and been signed off on two radios and call taking. After you are there for a year, you get sent to the state dispatching training course which is 3 weeks long and for me, it was pretty much a review of what I had already learned.

She stayed in her closet until the officer's got there. They cleared the house, found the guy in a shed in the backyard, arrested him and she was fine.

My very first solo 911 call after being signed off as a call taker. It was a prowler call and the female caller was hiding in her closet and I could hear the person inside her house, in the background. I had no experience in keeping people calm but I tried my best.

Yes. Caller stated their house was on fire and they were trying to make it outside. They set the phone down, or dropped it and then ended up getting stuck inside the house while it burned down around them. One of my worst calls ever.

Yes, talked to my co-workers about it and one supervisor who wasn't working that shift. It bothered me for weeks. Still to this day, whenever I take a house fire call from an elderly person, I half expect to relive this call again. :-(