Minnesota's first first responders make a difference
April 15, 2024
By Jen Longaecker
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Deputy Communications Director
It's just after 3:30 a.m. and the shrill sound of the dispatch center's 911 line ringing jolts me into action. My colleagues perk up. Calls at this hour can turn in a flash into an all-hands-on-deck situation.
“911, what's the address of your emergency?"
There is a moment of silence but the second the man on the other end of the line begins speaking, I know this won't be the typical middle-of-the-night call for help.
Dispatcher instinct.
“Um … we are in the fire department parking lot and my wife is having a baby," the panicked man says shakily into the phone. He's trying hard — and doing a decent job — of keeping it together for his wife, who I hear moaning in the background.
“We're knocking on the door but nobody is answering," he laughs. “Can you tell them to come outside?"
I can't. Because there are no firefighters in the building. They are at home asleep. This is a small town where the firefighters don't stay at the fire station 24/7.
This moment is one of the reasons I became a 911 dispatcher. I wanted to help people and make a positive impact.
“I think the baby is coming RIGHT NOW," he screams into the phone.
I immediately jump into action, entering the call into the system so my partner can get an ambulance and an officer on the way. The officer is relatively close but baby is already making its debut into the world.
I grab my emergency medical dispatch cards and flip to the tab that will help me deliver a baby over the phone. I begin asking the man questions and discover the baby is all the way out. I start telling him how to clean out her mouth, make sure she is breathing OK and clamp off the umbilical cord. I help him find something in the car to keep his new daughter warm.
I hear the distant wail of sirens in the background. An officer arrives about 30 seconds later.
If the above scenario sounds like it's rewarding, like something you'd want to do for your career, becoming a public safety telecommunicator could be the job you've been waiting for.
This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. You can read the proclamation from Gov. Tim Walz.
We're taking time to thank all of the public safety telecommunicators — also known as 911 dispatchers — across our state, including at our own Minnesota State Patrol, who serve the public and help keep us safe.
These men and women are often referred to as the “first first responders" because they pick up the phone and are the first to respond to what could be the worst moment of someone's life. Or at the very least a moment that's stressful or scary.
Our police, fire and medical professionals rely on the people sitting in that chair waiting to pick up the phone and make a difference. Dispatchers at 103 state, tribal, county, municipal and non-traditional Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) answer 911 calls placed by Minnesota residents and visitors. In 2022, these PSAPs answered over 2.85 million calls.
Make sure you follow our Department of Public Safety jobs page for openings at our State Patrol dispatch centers. We also have public safety telecommunicator job openings posted from across the state at 911itsyourcalling.com.
