1. THURSDAY APRIL 21 2016 O'FALLON PROGRESS 3B
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U
niversally, tele-
communicators
are ‘heroes be-
hind the scenes,’
O’Fallon Police Captain
Mark Berry said.
“We wouldn’t be able to
do our jobs serving our
citizens without the dis-
patchers, and that goes for
several other departments
too,” Berry said.
Last week, O’Fallon
joined the nation in honor-
ing its telecommunicators
by proclaiming the week
of April 11 National Tele-
communicators Week in
the city.
“O’Fallon’s telecom-
municators play a vital
role in our community
every time an emergency
occurs. These profession-
als work long, stressful
hours to ensure that top
notch emergency services
are provided to our citi-
zens,” said O’Fallon May-
or Gary Graham last week.
In 1991, the United
States Congress pro-
claimed the second week
of April as a nationally
recognized week.
National Telecommun-
icator Week enhances
public awareness and
promotes the much need-
ed education regarding
important public safety
issues and legislation by
placing national attention
on the seemingly nameless
and faceless individuals
who help save countless
lives by answering emer-
gency calls, dispatching
emergency professionals
and equipment, and pro-
viding moral support to
citizens in distress.
Diligence, patience and
an open mind are neces-
sary qualities every tele-
communicator must have,
according to Danny Col-
lins, O’Fallon Public Safe-
ty Department dispatcher
for two years.
“I’ve been doing this for
a long time, and there’s a
lot of things I love about
my job, but I can’t say
there’s one specific thing I
like most, it’s hard to put
my thumb on it,” Collins
said.
With a police officer
mom, and a youth Explor-
er program graduate, Col-
lins said he was intro-
duced to the world of
public safety early in life,
and was formerly a dis-
patcher in Cahokia for
about 15 years prior to
joining the O’Fallon Public
Safety Telecommunica-
tions Team.
“Never knowing what’s
gonna come on a different
shift keeps us on our
toes,” Collins said.
“You’re not coming into
work punching the same
buttons for eight hours
and then going home, just
to come back to do it
again,” he said.
Helping people is the
prevailing reason that
brings Collins back to
work, time and time again.
“When you can actually
reach out there and con-
nect with someone on the
phone, not just the every-
day call, but when you’re
really in the thick of it, and
able to help somebody out
— it gives you a good feel-
ing inside,” Collins ex-
plained.
The work of telecom-
municators comes with its
fair share of challenges,
Collins said.
“The hardest part about
our job, I think, is being
stuck in one spot,” he said.
Thankfully, the dis-
patchers are never sched-
uled solitary shifts, Berry
said.
“It really seems to help
them emotionally and
mentally to have another
dispatcher in the same
room the whole shift, that
way if someone becomes
overwhelmed and needs to
step out for a minute, they
can, or even just small talk
between calls to mitigate
the boredom helps,” Berry
said.
There are times when a
dispatcher wants to help
more, but that’s not al-
ways an option, Collins
said.
“There are moments
where you can reach out
to someone else on the
other end, but you can
only do so much you can
do over the phone, and
that can be very frustrat-
ing at times,” Collins said.
“Dealing with that and
the other stressers was the
biggest obstacle for me,
and I’ve noticed that hap-
pen to new incoming dis-
patchers too, and I just tell
them, ‘as long as you did
everything in your power
and carried out your role
to the best of your ability
— that has to be enough,”
he said.
Carmen Kuhl, O’Fallon
Public Safety telecommun-
icator since 2014, attri-
butes her passion for dis-
patching to helping the
greater good.
“Every day is different,
and so unexpected, you
just never know what
could happen next,” Kuhl
said.
Kuhl said she felt dis-
patching was best suited
for her skill set when
asked why it is her career
focus, Kuhl said, plus she
has friends in the field ta
bout.
“It just seemed to be the
best fit for me, and it’s a
very exciting job,” Kuhl
said.
But also having some
good ‘ole fitness fun is a
perk to her job too, she
said.
“I’m really happy the
department opted to get
this (stationary bicycle) for
our center,” Kuhl said.
There is a control panel
that allows the user on the
stationary bike to adjust
the speed, level or resist-
ance, time and distance,
as well as keep track of the
caloric output.
Stationary cycling while
working is a good time,
Kuhl said.
“I enjoy it, and it’s nice
being able to exercise
while dispatching because
we don’t really get a
chance to get up and out
of our chair, so this is very
helpful,” Kuhl said.
Although keeping the
blood flowing while on
duty with the stationary
bike is a positive, Kuhl
said the work out is merely
a supplement to her exer-
cise regiment.
“I can’t go too fast
though because then I’m
out of breath, and that can
become a barrier during
calls,” Kuhl said. “People
think I’m running or
something, so I keep a
steady and manageable
pace.”
Kuhl said she often
takes advantage of the full
service fitness room off-
ered to all the public safe-
ty personnel, including the
police, emergency medical
service staff and the tele-
communicators.
“Most of our full-time
dispatchers use the bike
every shift, at least for part
of it if not more, but as a
part-timer, I don’t always
get the opportunity to,”
Kuhl said.
The O’Fallon Public
Safety telecommunicators
are comprised of dedicat-
ed people serving two
communities — O’Fallon
and Shiloh, including the
two police departments,
fire department with four
stations, and EMS.
There are eight full-time
telecommunicators at the
department, and under 10
part-timers, to handle a
multitude of critical calls
on a daily basis, some
life-threatening, and relay
safety and medical in-
formation to first respon-
ders, Collins said.
For more information,
please contact O’Fallon
Department of Public
Safety at 624-4545.
Robyn Kirsch:
618-239-2690,
@BND_RobynKirsch
O’Fallon Telecommunicators
are heroes behind the scenes
....................................................................................................................
Nationally recognized week dedicated to
telecommunicators
....................................................................................................................
O’Fallon Public Safety dispatchers have a stationary
bike work station
....................................................................................................................
Telecommunicators include all people who utilize
telephones, radios, computers and technical skill to
provide support to departments
....................................................................................................................
ROBYN L. KIRSCH rkirsch@bnd.com
O’Fallon Public Safety Department telecommunicator dispatcher Carmen Kuhl clocks
extra miles on the department’s stationary bicycle while working her shift last Friday.
BY ROBYN L. KIRSCH
rkirsch@bnd.com
ROBYN L. KIRSCH rkirsch@bnd.com
O’Fallon Public Safety Department telecommunicator
dispatcher Danny Collins has over 15 years collective
experience as a dispatcher.