As farmers get started in the fields, the people that provide a link to emergency services are being recognized.
It’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators week (April 14th through April 20th.) Those are the folks that answer the call when you dial 911.
Mercer County 9-1-1 Dispatch Supervisor Tiana Best has been answering calls for 15 years. She tells WRMJ the technology adopted by the county is lifesaving.
“We have great technology now. So a lot of times we are able to find you. We do have farming accidents. You get combines, they get caught on an electrical wire. That is a little hard because when you’ re in the middle of the cornfield, you don’t know your exact location, but luckily your phone will pretty much. So we are able to assist in that way, also with the mapping. And I know you can’t see it now, but say something does happen around your property – an ATV accident or something, we’re able to zoom in on your house and see your property as a whole, so then we can go, you know, we can dial it in by saying, you’re north of the barn or whatever. So it helps us to see your property as well.”
Best says Mercer County’s telecommunications system is also set up to receive texts that are sent to the number, “911.”
Best says this week of recognition for telecommunicators is important as many times they are the heroes that are never seen and only heard.