LifeLine 911

Send us Fan Mail For most people, emergency communications are an amorphic group of people who are there when you need them, but much thought is not given to it when things are working well. Over the years Hollywood has depicted emergency call centers in various television shows and films, notably in 2013s The Call and ABC's Emergency Call (2020 - 2021). While not often known for their faithf...

Send us Fan Mail One of the most important tools in a law enforcement officer's kit is not the gun, or the nightstick, or the squad car. Rather, it is the ability to have vast amounts of data at their fingertips that can be quickly searched and cross-referenced to help deduce the nature of a crime, as well as maintain accurate records for trials later down the line. Versaterm is a company whi...

Send us Fan Mail Perhaps the most challenging and rewarding role you will take on in the emergency communications field is that of a trainer; those valiant souls who not only endure the struggles of the profession, but have the added burden of ensuring that future telecommunicators are well-equipped to be successful in their careers. Join your host Erica as she discusses some of the keystone princ...

Send us Fan Mail Perhaps the most challenging and rewarding role you will take on in the emergency communications field is that of a trainer; those valiant souls who not only endure the struggles of the profession, but have the added burden of ensuring that future telecommunicators are well-equipped to be successful in their careers. Join your host Erica as she discusses some of the keystone princ...

Send us Fan Mail Supervision carries with it a great weight of responsibility; from ensuring that policies and procedures of your Department are followed, to training your staff to achieve the very best results from them, to sometimes needing to be a shoulder to cry on or provide life advice. These are common across all industries in supervision, yet there are still others needed when supervising...

Send us Fan Mail Many emergency services around the country were depleted of staff after the devastating effects of both the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 Riots, which saw personnel numbers drop as people left the industry. As these departments rebuild, there are challenges and opportunities available for these heroes behind the headsets to move into leadership positions, yet many are hesitant to...

Send us Fan Mail It is early in the morning at four a.m. and there hasn't been a call at your station in a quarter hour, and you desperately try and keep your eyes open until the dayshift comes in to relieve you. You fight against the tedious boredom of some nights, but your thoughts wander. Suddenly, your line rings and your heart catches as you try and reorganize your thoughts and focus on...

Send us Fan Mail During one's career as a telecommunicator, you are bound to hear a lot of very horrific insults and cruel words levied against you personally, even while you work to try and assist the callers or even fellow first-responders on the other end of the line. The why for this is obvious: people generally only interact with emergency services when there is a stressful emergency occ...

Send us Fan Mail Once a year in the United States, the hard-working men and women behind the headsets of emergency call centers all across the nation are celebrated for the tremendous work and sacrifices they make to keep the community safe. Telecommunicators' Week is a chance for the great achievements and stalwart dedication of the profession to be recognized and shown special appreciation....

Send us Fan Mail Young callers are a frequent occurrence as emergency call centers, and they provide their own unique challenges and opportunities when assisting them. It also can allow the operator to provide an outsized impact on the child's life and all the lives they touch. How can you as a 911 operator best help out those young voices in need of help, even though they may have trouble pr...

Send us Fan Mail In many departments across the nation, some police reports have been moved to being done either over the phone or online. These non-emergency calls, typically those which are not in progress and pose no ongoing threat to the life and property of the citizens, might be more efficiently completed remotely rather than having a police officer respond. But, are they worth it to departm...

Send us Fan Mail The emergency dispatcher's world is one filled with decisions which must be made in half a heartbeat, where the outcome can lead to tremendous success or terrible failure: do I send my available resources to this noise complaint call at a known narcotics house or to a suspicious person call near the elementary school? Added to that are the limitations of depleted patrol resou...

Send us Fan Mail In any large enough group of people, there are bound to be those who feel disconnected from others and from the organization as a whole. So too it sometimes is with Emergency Communicators, the 911 Call Takers and Police Dispatchers who serve their community. This invisible line which separates the two groups can take many forms, can be conscious or subconscious, benign or maligna...

Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, we discussed several methods that Emergency Communications personnel could take care of themselves to have long, successful, and happy careers in the field. In this episode, we discuss pitfalls to avoid in the industry that make it hard to thrive and can lead down paths of despair. Take it from Erica, these are things which you absolutely want to avoid. Su...

Send us Fan Mail As First Responders, we spend a lot of energy and effort in taking care of other people, be it answering emergency calls, dispatching police, fire, and medical personnel, or assisting others in our lives. But there is generally one person we tend to forget in providing, and that is ourselves. We can not adequately do our jobs though if we are not ourselves in good physical, mental...

Send us Fan Mail Training someone as an emergency 911 call taker or dispatcher is one of the most important jobs that you can undertake in the field of being a First Responder. It is also one of the most challenging and rewarding elements of the vocation. What are some of the Dos and Don'ts of being a successful trainer though, to help guide the next generation to fill our shoes when we have...

Send us Fan Mail Most people think of holidays such as Christmas or President's Day as a time to relax and be off work, where you spend time with friends and family, taking a break from the daily concerns in life. For a First Responder however, a holiday doesn't necessarily mean time away from work. How do those who work in true twenty-four hour professions navigate a good work/life bala...

Send us Fan Mail The first episode of the podcast LifeLine. In this episode, veteran emergency dispatcher Erica discusses the fundamentals of a training program for newly hired employees and how to best support trainers during their time of need. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to be an emergency 911 call taker or dispatcher? What type of person would be a good candidate for the job and what are some of the challenges that people who are interested in the career don't think about when they initially apply? In this episode, we discuss the qualities which make someone a good fit for emergency communication work and how to best succee...