The 20-plus members of Costa Mesa’s Telecommunications Bureau received some special recognition this week as city, police and fire officials celebrated the National Public Safety Communicators Week that runs through April 16.
The week, sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and celebrated annually, honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the world’s citizens, according to a statement on the association’s website.
City CEO office staff, including CEO Tom Hatch, was one of several departments to provide food, deserts and beverages to the team as a way to honor and thank them for the work they do.
On Wednesday April 13, Hatch and others visited the bureau, located just behind City Hall, and met with members of the telecom team and got a demonstration of their duties.
“They provide quality customer service to residents by continually and quickly helping to solve problems for the community,” Hatch said.
CEO Tom Hatch and telecom Supervisor Sandra Marquez
The communications officers who work in the bureau take in more than 100 calls a day and put in 12 and sometimes 18-hour shifts taking calls from accident victims, suicidal, belligerent and despondent callers or victims of fire or crime.
“How often do you have to take a call from someone who is having perhaps the worst experience in their life,” said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Keith Davis, who supervises the Telecommunications Bureau. “They do it every single day.”
Davis noted the bureau is only one of two in the county that manages all dispatch duties for a single city. The telecom team handles both emergency and non-emergency calls for police, fire, animal control maintenance and water services. They provide members of the public with directions on how to respond to medical emergencies.
Davis, who has supervised the crew for a little more than a year, said he’s learned a lot about just what they do.
“I think they are extremely deserving of the recognition,” he said. “This is an opportunity to tell them that we do appreciate them and there are a lot of people dropping by and recognizing them. It makes them feel they are not unnoticed. They are real excited.”
Davis pointed out that the dispatchers and call takers end up being spokespeople for the city. How a member of the public is treated can really change perceptions.
“It helps to have talented people,” he said. “I thought I knew a little bit about dispatch. I had no idea about the scope of their responsibilities. Doing what they do on a daily basis, especially being short staffed, is even more admirable.”
