National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week honors 9-1-1 dispatchers

1 hour ago

Ryan Brooks,

Established in 1981, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week recognizes the professionals who handle more than 240 million emergency calls annually in the U.S.

The week honors the professionals who answer emergency calls, manage chaotic situations, and dispatch police, fire, and medical responders. It highlights the work of 9-1-1 dispatchers.

Coordinating emergency response

“The collaboration with us and the police department along with the fire department, EMS, and other emergency services — just having that voice to help guide them through situations where maybe visibility is limited. Maybe they’re not sure on the location or just keeping the citizens that are on scene calm and helping the officer know where to be and where to set up. All those things are how we coordinate to help them coordinate their rescue efforts,” said Capt. Trey Trull.

Public safety telecommunicators are often the first point of contact in an emergency, gathering information, triaging situations, and coordinating police, fire, and EMS in real time.

Entry point for first responders

“It’s not for everyone but if you’re thinking about becoming a first responder this is probably the best place to understand how all the services work together and collaborate together. This is the best viewpoint,” Trull said.

According to the National Emergency Number Association, the U.S. Senate passed a bill in 2025 recognizing the 9-1-1 profession as a public safety occupation.

“We work behind the scenes — we are not invisible, but we are not seen but our efforts and our heroics are there. Just like officers and fire departments, we go through traumatic situations and experience traumatic incidents and we have resources to help to handle those situations,” Trull said.

Across the nation, telecommunicators answer more than 240 million 9-1-1 calls each year.

Support can be shown this week by using the hashtags #nationalpublicsafetytelecommunicatorsweek and #publicsafetytelecommunicatorweek on social media.