HOLBROOK — Director Steve Hooke wishes to recognize the public safety dispatchers of the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) during this year’s National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW) is held annually during the second week of April to honor telecommunications personnel for their commitment, service, and sacrifice.
NPSTW, held this year from April 10-16, is a time to celebrate and thank telecommunications personnel across the country who serve their communities, citizens and public safety personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center would like to recognize its team of telecommunicators for the work they do serving the communities within the HRECC coverage area. These men and women are responsible for a variety of technical and dispatching work related to the answering of all emergency and non-emergency telephone calls and alarms in support of the Center’s operations.
“Our team of highly trained, highly skilled telecommunicators come to work every day not knowing what will be on the other end of the calls they take, but they handle every situation in a calm, professional manner and work seamlessly with their fellow first responders throughout the communities we serve,” Director Hooke said. “They are always striving to improve their skills through rigorous training and learning from their fellow dispatchers, and we would like to acknowledge them for all they do throughout the year.”
To learn more about the HRECC’s team of telecommunicators, click here. To learn more about NPSTW, visit NPSTW.org.
National 911 Education Month
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is held during the month of April, which also happens to be National 911 Education Month. According to the National Emergency Number Association, around 240 million 911 calls are made annually. National 911 Education Month is recognized across the country to conduct outreach and inform community members on emergency protocols and resources.
In order to make sure residents are able to receive help in an emergency, the HRECC provides the following safety tips from the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) and the Federal Communications Commission as part of National 911 Education Month:
Text-to-911
Text-to-911 is the ability to send a text message to reach 911 emergency call takers from your mobile phone or device. However, because voice calls to 911 provide more information to 911 call centers, you should always make a voice call to 911 during an emergency whenever possible.
Text-to-911 is available to all residents in the state. The Massachusetts State 911 Department, which oversees and maintains the statewide 911 system for emergency services, encourages residents to, “Call if you can, text if you can’t.”
When a citizen sends a text message to 911, it will be routed to an emergency call center based on the location information provided by the carrier. For this reason, when a citizen sends a Text-to-911, they should make every effort to text the town name, address or location that they are located in.
For more information on Text-to-911 in the state, click here.
Know Your Location
With wireless calls, 911 operators can locate callers, but more information may be needed in order for emergency services to find exact locations. Be prepared to provide detailed information on your location to assist the 911 operator.
Stay Calm and Don’t Hang Up
Unless instructed to do otherwise, you should stay on the line when calling 9-1-1 in order to provide necessary information to the operator. Even if you accidentally dial 9-1-1, you should stay on the line and inform the operator that there is no emergency and that you did not mean to call. While on the phone, please answer the telecommunicator’s questions. They are trying to determine whether or not there is an emergency or if someone is in need of assistance.
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