On the other end of the line

They often only hear part of the story – how it begins.

When interviewing potential new dispatchers, Heidi Gillespie said she reminds them they will be talking to people on the very worst days of their lives, and they won't always learn how the story ends.

Traffic crashes, medical emergencies, fires, violence. Those are the things they will hear on the other end of the line.

From Potter to Lodgepole, Dalton to Lorenzo, when something bad happens, Gillespie or one of the dispatchers she oversees is usually the first to hear about it.

In Cheyenne County, 9-1-1 calls are answered in an office beneath the courthouse. The basement location was deliberate, Gillespie said, to offer protection from a tornado.

She has been the director of the Cheyenne County Communications Center for about two years.

Dispatchers in the windowless office manage multiple phone lines – emergency and non-emergency – while directing law enforcement and first responders by radio to where they're needed.

The communications center also handles scheduling for the handy-bus and after-hours calls for the City of Sidney Electrical Department.

There are seven dispatcher positions, in addition to the director, but two are vacant.

Because the communications center is short staffed, only one dispatcher is scheduled for most shifts – except for the busiest time, from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., when two are on hand.

Multi tasking isn't a preferred trait in dispatchers – it's mandatory, Gillespie said, along with an ability to calm down callers and ascertain critical information in moments of crisis.

A deck of computer monitors rest upon one end of a long table in the middle of the dimly lit office. On the other end of the table sits an identical set up. They're the two consoles that connect dispatchers to the phone and radio systems. A third console, connected to the phones, rests on a desk in the corner.

The computer screens display a map of where callers are located, which allow dispatchers to input data into reports and control the phone and radio systems. Another computer, located between the two main consoles, is connected to a national database that can be used to run license plates or gather other information about individuals.

A low, dull hum sounds in the room from the building's heating and cooling system. Maps of the county, depicting municipal and fire department boundaries, occupy the office's walls.

Dispatchers are trained to get essential information – location, a call-back phone number, name and what happened – during 9-1-1 calls and then quickly get off the phone. They are also able to provide basic first aid information, like how to control bleeding or perform CPR, over the phone.

Gillespie said they must remain in a constant state of alertness, whether it's 3 p.m. or 3 a.m., and always be ready for the next call.

"We have to treat each call as an emergency until we know it's not," she said.

And that holds for calls on the non-emergency phone lines, she explained. Sometimes people call the communications center's seven-digit phone number for medical emergencies – and likewise, sometimes people call 9-1-1 for non-emergencies.

The purpose of 9-1-1 is to report imminent threats to life or property, she said. When emergencies arise, it's important callers know where they are.

The vast majority of 9-1-1 calls come from cell phones, she said, and while technology has improved, dispatchers aren't always able to accurately or precisely see where callers are located. The type of cell phone, provider and weather can all have an effect.

"Know where you are," Gillespie said. "Pay attention to exits, mile markers, landmarks."

While every call and situation is different, the response of dispatchers is the same, she added.

On a Friday afternoon earlier this month, Gillespie was simultaneously on the phone with a stranded motorist, consulting a map to determine whether to dispatch an officer from the Sidney Police Department or a deputy from the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office, acknowledging a law enforcement officer who had checked in on the radio, and inputting information on a computer – and then quickly ending the phone call to answer another line.

When emergencies arise, with phones ringing and radios crackling, dispatchers are often the first contact – collecting vital information and dispatching responders.

For those experiencing the worst day of their lives, dispatchers are the calm voice in the midst of chaos.

Not knowing the ending of emergency calls she answers doesn't bother her, Gillespie said.

"I don't want to know," she explained. "I prefer not to know."

Instead, she conjures happy resolutions in her mind.

The non-emergency telephone number for the Cheyenne County Communications Center is (308) 254-2880.