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A tough job
There’s been a lot of talk, and several letters to the editor recently about the job done by the dispatchers at the Rappahannock County Sheriffs Department. We agree with the sentiments expressed in the letters — that the dispatchers have a difficult job and they do it extremely well.
One of the duties of this newspaper’s staffers is to monitor the radio calls dispatched for both the Sheriffs Department and the county’s fire and rescue companies. We hear, and we appreciate, the problems they face and the professional way they conduct themselves under sometimes grueling circumstances.
A situation which occurred last weekend perfectly illustrates the stressful and demanding situations which the dispatchers are sometimes faced with.
A call came in for a possible heart attack near Sperryville. Because the Washington VFD medic unit was out of service, the dispatcher had to know to call out Sperryville and Flint Hill, rather than Washington.
As both Sperryville and Flint Hill responded to that call, another possible heart attack was reported in Flint Hill. The Washington VFD ambulance responded as a basic rescue unit, and was met en route by a Cardiac Technician.
Meanwhile, the units on the scene of the Sperryville fall found that Culpeper Memorial Hospital’s med-radio was out of service, and all transmissions had to be routed through the dispatcher. Information which could result in life-or-death decisions was being relayed through the dispatcher.
At the same time, she was responsible for any Sheriffs Department transmissions, any additional fire or rescue calls, any State Police transmissions with the Sheriffs Department, as well as the matron’s duties at the jail.
But it’s all in a day’s work for thg^county’s dispatchers. The county is fortunate to have such well-qualified, professional people handling calls to the Sheriffs Department, whether it’s a routine request for directions from a lost tourist or a life-threatening situation where seconds could make the difference.
We’d just like to add our thanks to the women who handle the county’s dispatching duties. It’s a tough job — and you do it well!
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