Frederick County celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

Gabrielle Bienasz, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 14—Jacob Dmuchowoski was on the phone with a 911 caller and coached the caller as they worked to deliver a baby until the newborn was "halfway" out and first responders arrived to take over.

Dmuchowoski, 21, is an emergency communications specialist at Frederick County's 911 Center, where he and other workers field calls ranging from accidental dials to domestic violence cases and fires.

Dispatchers, he said, are the ones who get all the emergency services started.

They are "the unseen, unsung heroes of public safety," county officials wrote in a press release celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which is marked the second week of April.

Frederick County 911 call takers fielded more than 500,000 calls in 2022.

Four babies were delivered while a communications specialist was in contact with a caller on the scene in 2022.

The communicators are "the vital link between the community and law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical agencies," county officials said in the release.

The line of work has a particular connection for County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. She had to make a 911 call the day her husband, Gerald Bigelow, died suddenly in 2019, Fitzwater said in a phone interview Thursday.

On what she described as the worst day of her life, she called, and the person on the phone remained calm, "talking me through things."

"Just knowing that that is literally what they do all day, every day ... really puts into perspective how important their jobs are and how critically essential they are for us having a safe community," Fitzwater said.

But the job can take its toll. Long shifts, under staffing, mental stress, among other issues, all help contribute to turnover in the field, according to a 2018 focus group study of 911 call takers published in the journal Safety and Health at Work.

National Emergency Number Association, a nonprofit advocacy group, said in January that "anecdotally," call centers around the U.S. are understaffed by 30%.

For its part, Frederick County's center is short at least 12 call takers, said LeighAnn Osuch, manager of the E Shift, a group that works a particular schedule in the department. Workers use many large screens and Computer Aided Dispatch Systems, or CAD, to communicate between callers and parties like law enforcement.

Fitzwater said there are plans to implement improved 911 technology, including better CAD and location services.

She also said the county is looking to expand mental health resources for call takers. The department currently has a peer support group.

Angelia Axline, 43, said she's been doing the job for 11 1/2 years. The veteran dispatcher said she handles the stress by running, swimming and spending time with her kids.

"Helping people," Axline said, keeps her in the job.

Osuch said she has delivered one baby in her 17-year career. The department displays plaques bearing the names of dispatchers who have helped coach callers through delivering babies and of those who helped save the life of someone in cardiac distress via CPR instructions.

For Frederick County in particular, she said the long shifts, which are 12 hours long, make it difficult for people to meet child care needs.

But she thinks the main problem is awareness.

"I think not many people know about our job, honestly," she said.

"People don't think about 911 as a career. People are so focused on firefighter or police officer that they forget that there's something that starts all of it, there's something that holds all of it together."