Needless to say, constant exposure to the fear and crises of others is distressing to compassionate people, and dispatchers do their work in the midst of it all. Despite the panic ringing through the lines, dispatchers know they have to remain calm even in the most dire situations. For a profession that stands between life and death for many people, these scores are not surprising.īecause dispatchers are the lifeline between people in dangerous situations and the help they need, they often have to talk people through some tense and fear-stricken moments. In addition, the average dispatcher has a time pressure score of 68.3 and a consequence of error score of 86. On average, police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers score a 98.5 out of 100 for stress tolerance on the O*NET stress factor scoring system where higher numbers correlate with higher stress levels. They have one of the most stressful jobs in America.Īccording to an article in Business Insider, emergency dispatchers routinely endure some of the most nerve-wrenching shifts in the country.If you’re curious about what it really means to be a dispatcher, check out these 17 facts that will make you thankful for their service. In reality, they’re so much more than call receivers. Moreover, they’re always there when we need them.Īlthough they play such an important role in our lives, most of us don’t know very much about dispatchers besides the fact that they’re the voices on the other end of a 911 call. They tell police officers where to find us during threatening times like armed burglaries and abusive situations. They patiently talk our parents and grandparents through the tense and sometimes painful moments after a fall until help arrives.

Emergency dispatchers are a crucial part of public safety for a myriad of reasons. They’re the first people we call in an emergency- our lifeline between disaster and the help we need.

911 dispatch week