They are the calm voice you talk to when you have an emergency and call 911.
They are the steady voice dispatching firefighters and police officers to help those in need. They are the dependable voice that is the lifeline between emergency responders and people that need their help.
The emergency 911 call receivers and dispatchers are being recognized for what they do during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 10-16.
In South King County, the local 911 call receiving and dispatch center is Valley Communications (Valley Com), which is on Kent’s East Hill just off South 277th Street. Valley Com dispatches nearly all police and fire departments in the area.
When a person calls 911, a specially trained call receiver gathers the information about the incident, helps to keep the caller calm and often provides instructions about what to do. The call receiver enters the information into a computer generated template and then sends it to the police and fire dispatchers.
The dispatchers then send the emergency responders to the call based on location and call type. Local emergency responders rely on the people of Valley Com to notify them of pending calls, to bring additional resources and to facilitate communications between agencies.
To learn more about Valley Communications, go to valleycom.org.
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