MONROE COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – The first 911 call in the United States was made 58 years ago today by former Alabama House Speaker Rankin Fite during a non-emergency demonstration.
The emergency system was created through work from Congress, the FCC and AT&T.
Since then, dispatchers have worked to keep people safe during emergencies while technology has evolved to make their jobs more effective.
April White, director of the Monroe County 911 Center, said the work remains challenging but essential.
“I helped save a life today,” White said, describing what keeps 911 dispatchers motivated.
White was a dispatcher when the Monroe County center first went online around 1993. She said the job looked much different then.
“We had to handwrite everything. We had color-coded cards for each department. We had log sheets that we had to fill out,” White said.
Technology improvements have streamlined operations with faster computers, touch screens and the ability to send links to help with CPR.
“And within seconds, very few seconds, you click on that link and it will open your cell phone up and we can see what you’re doing. And we can watch you and tell you if you’re doing it right or not,” White said.
White said the job can be mentally and emotionally draining.
“There’s just so much that you can hear before it starts to have an impact on you,” White said.
Over the years, 911 centers have created debriefs for tough calls, quiet rooms and therapy options for dispatchers.
White said there are ways for people to help dispatchers when calling for help.
“If it’s a medical call to know as much as you can about a person’s medical history, anything that they have going on with them, if it’s something per se where there’s a suspect, any kind of description that they can give us no matter how minute it is, any of that, as much information as you can give us,” White said.
White said every second counts, so dispatchers gather as much information as possible from callers and first responders.
She recommends callers remember their location, answer questions and stay on the call.
The Monroe County call center answered more than 18,000 calls during the last winter storm and handled more than 100,000 calls last year.
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