(Photo/Livingston County Sheriff’s Office)
LIVINGSTON COUNTY – This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week. In 1991, a formal Congressional resolution acknowledged the vital role that telecommunicators, play in emergency situations by proclaiming this annual recognition in their honor.
According to a press release from Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty, telecommunicators, typically called ‘dispatchers’ in Livingston County, are the hub of all communications and coordinate much of first responders’ activities in the county.
“Our Dispatchers are often times not recognized enough although they play such a vital role in public safety,” said Dougherty. “The old saying out of sight, out of mind may be the reason but for anyone that listens to our radio frequency, they can be heard 24/7/365 always doing a very professional job. I can’t praise them enough and ask that you join with me and thank them for their service to our great county.”
Livingston County has one central public safety answering point (PSAP) that services all first responders within the county and includes 6 Village Police Departments, the New York State Police, the Department of Environmental Conservation Police, the New York State Park Police, 13 ambulance services, 23 fire services, Advanced Life Support Services and numerous additional emergency and non-emergency services. In 2015, total combined telephone traffic numbered 154,006 calls.
The PSAP is titled the Livingston County Emergency Communications Center but often times is quickly referred to as the ‘911 Center’ as all 911 calls are routed to this one central location. This vital identity for public safety in Livingston County is operated under the Sheriff and all those employed in the Emergency Communications Center are members of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.
“We ask the community to join us in our appreciation for all that our Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers do daily,” added Dougherty.