ALACHUA COUNTY, FL — Amid the chaos and confusion of the Sunday morning crashes on Interstate 75 was the calm, reassuring voice of a teenager coming from the Combined Communications Center.

A recording of a 911 call, released by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, demonstrates the composure that 19-year-old rookie call-taker Leslie Edvalson showed as the horrific incident unfolded.

Edvalson answered one of the first calls made to 911 about the crashes that began around 4 a.m. as the freeway was shrouded in smoke and fog. For nearly 13 minutes, she listened and encouraged two or three women who took turns talking on the cellphone to describe what they could hear from their vantage point in the dark.

As the call continued, Edvalson heard what sounded similar to gunshots but were actually vehicle crashes happening ahead of, behind and beside the women.

“At first when they called, I thought it wouldn’t be a big incident because I thought I-75 was still closed,” Edvalson told The Sun on Tuesday. The women had told her their car hit a guard rail and they had no significant injuries, but they could not see anything because of the smoke.

Based on her six months of training and seven months of experience, Edvalson thought the women would be safest remaining in their vehicle.

Then, as the crashes could be heard happening around them — probably once every minute or so — Edvalson realized the women might be safer getting out of their vehicle.

“The worst part about it was being so helpless,” Edvalson said. “I was the one who needed to tell them what to do, but they would be in danger no matter what I told them to do. There was no safe place to send them.”

Throughout it all, Edvalson remained calm, reminding the women that help was on the way and encouraging them to provide as many details as they could. Those details allowed others inside the 911 center to determine what types of crews to send to the scene and what to tell the emergency workers to expect when they got there.

It was the second grueling call of the overnight shift for Edvalson. She also took a call a couple of hours earlier from a person in an SUV that became entrapped under a semi truck on I-75.

“I was OK during the calls,” Edvalson said. “I think that was because the training is amazing for this job.”

She also credited the women on the other end of the line during the call.

“I was so impressed how well they kept it together while this was all happening around them, and they didn’t hang up the phone,” Edvalson said. “Sometimes people will just panic and hang up.”

The identities of the callers had not been released by authorities on Tuesday.

The stress debriefing at the end of Edvalson’s shift on Sunday morning was also helpful.

“We sat in a circle and everybody got to say what they went through,” Edvalson said. “Then, I went home. That’s when I cried.”

Edvalson has no plans to make a career out of helping people in crisis. She really wants to go into musical education, but for now she is happy she followed the footsteps of an older sister and brother.

Big sister Sarah Boyett spent eight years working in the communications center. Big brother Dallin Edvalson has been employed by the center for two to three years.

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They took their concerns to Louisville Metro Council members at City Hall Thursday night.

They have been without contracts for 18 months. Workers picketed Thursday for that very reason.

They said much of the language for a new contract is written. Now, it comes down to money.

“We don’t want to have to take this to mediation, so we’re asking for your support,” said Lane Morrison, a Teamster with Louisville Metro EMS.

“We’re still without a contract because Metro Government doesn’t know what to do,” said Todd Thomason with Teamsters Local 783.

That’s why Thomason said the workers took to the picket line outside Metro Hall.

“There’s no increases, and employees are still making their runs; they’re still risking their lives,” said Thomason.

“We went to the table and asked for no more, no less than what they gave the fire department on the recent contract they signed,” said EMS technician and chief union steward Art Cash.

Workers want a 2 percent annual increase on wages that Thomason said other emergency services workers already get.

“Right now, all we’re asking for is the same as police and firefighters,” said Thomason.

Teamsters said contract negotiations between them and the city have gone stale. They took their concerns to council members asking for help.

“It’s been three months since our last meeting with Metro Government, and we only met seven times in 2011,” one worker said at the meeting.

“I would just encourage the city to negotiate in good faith,” said Metro Councilman David James.

James said the Metro Council does not have the power to negotiate contracts, but would approve or disapprove once an agreement is reached.

It’s that agreement James urges city leaders to finish.

“The workers we’re talking about are emergency workers. They’re the ones who take care of us every day. They should not be distracted with these types of things when they’re trying to protect us,” said James.

Currently, Mayor Greg Fischer is looking for a way to cut about $23 million in overtime he said the city accumulates every year.

Thomason said he’s willing to talk concessions and ways to reduce spending once workers get what’s owed to them.

On Thursday night, a spokesman for the mayor said his office continues to work with the workers on contract negotiations and is hopeful for a resolution soon.

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At any given time, a half-dozen 911 dispatchers man their stations for 12-hour shifts – out of sight, but in ear shot.

Probably the quietest of them all is Vicki Love.

“We aren’t accustomed to being in the spotlight,” said Love. “We like to fade in the background.”

As shy as she seems, she’s being hailed a hero. Late last year, near the end a busy shift, Love got a call.

On the other end was someone who was contemplating suicide.

“He said he was tired of living and didn’t want to live anymore,” said Love.

Love said she listened, while the man rambled on and on about experiencing several traumatic events earlier that week.

“It is okay to ask for help, okay? We want to get you some help,” Love told him.

When the call ended, she clocked out for the evening. The next day, a call came in on the non-emergency line, asking to speak to a supervisor.

The voice on the line was from the same man from the night before, said Love’s supervisor, Vicki Callicutt.

“He was excited,” said Callicutt. “His words were, ‘The lady saved my life and I don’t know who she is.’ I’m convinced Vicki made a huge difference in his life.”

For a woman who hides behind monitors and talks softly into her phone, the difference Love made that evening is loud and clear.

“That is the thing about the job, you don’t get see what happens what the outcome is,” said Love.

Love said she never asked for the acclaim, or all the attention. She simply said she was quietly doing her job.

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For the first time ever, the department is offering medical assistance over the phone.

Dispatchers have been trained to evaluate any emergency and give advice to stabilize the patients.

The new protocol includes a lot of extra questions, and dispatchers want people to know these questions are for your benefit. They’re based on each specific situation so they can help you while an ambulance is on the way.

Kiristy Deblock, the assistant supervisor of Emergency Services, says it’s taken a lot of extra work, but it’s worth it.

“It’s kind of exciting in a way, it makes us feel like we are a little more a part of the process,” she said.

With just a click of a mouse she can bring up a list of questions for any type of emergency.

“Pretty much everything, I can’t think of anything that’s not covered,” said Deblock .

“We’re starting the EMS process a little bit earlier, rather than waiting until the paramedics arrive on the scene,” said Melissa Foster, the deputy director of Emergency Services.

The new program is already paying off. This week, dispatchers helped diagnose symptoms of a stroke.

The call went like this:

Dispatcher – “Ask her to smile.”

Caller – “Baby, just smile.”

Dispatcher – “Was the smile equal on both sides of her mouth?”

Caller – “No ma’am.”

Dispatcher – Tell me what was different.”

Caller – “She didn’t smile on the left side of her face.”

The diagnosis allows first responders to immediately begin treatment. In the past, that wouldn’t have happened.

“The most we could do is just to reassure them that the responders were on the way,” said Foster.

But now, they can give instructions. With a little more on the job training, they say they’ll get even better providing help.

“That’s what this is all about, it’s about the citizens receiving the best service and receiving it as early as possible,” said Foster.

It’s not just about asking questions. Dispatchers have also learned to perform CPR and how to do the Heimlich maneuver so they can better instruct callers who are trying to save a life.

Read the story here.

But certain events — the death a deputy or the release of 56 exotic animals — can grind away at them, professionally and personally. Whether it was the silence on the radio when Deputy Bob Tanner was shot Jan. 8, 2002, or when callers around the world wished the sheriff’s employees would all die for their part in killing animals, dispatchers remain dedicated to the job, but find ways to leave it at the door.

Two local dispatchers –Joleen Kinsel and Shelle Garey — shared with the Times Recorder what they considered two of the most difficult times they have experienced.

The job takes a combination of patience, perseverance and an ability to multi-task.

They learn to rely on the people who understand it most — each other.

“We know the stress and the pain,” Garey said. “We’re like a family here. It’s what gets us through.”

Losing one of their own

Kinsel marked Deputy Bob Tanner out on his shift Jan. 8, 2002, and sat down to have a snack.

Then came the call they all fear.

Tanner was shot in the head after stopping to assist what he thought was a lost driver.

“I tried to raise him three times,” said Kinsel, 37, who has been a dispatcher for 19 years. “I kept saying ‘Go ahead.’ But there was nothing. Just silence.”

It later was learned Henry Hager shot Tanner in the back of the head, but not before Tanner had radioed the license plate of the vehicle Hager was driving. Hager was caught hours later and is serving a life sentence in the Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe after being convicted of aggravated murder in 2004.

Knowing Tanner and his wife, Jennifer, compounded Kinsel’s feelings.

“I remember hearing the first unit that got to Bob screaming into the radio for help and a squad,” Kinsel said, her eyes slightly darkening as she let herself go back to that night. “The whole night turned into a night of chaos. I hadn’t smoked a cigarette in 11 years and that night, I had one.”

When Kinsel got off duty that night, she said all she could do was stand on the street, snow falling and temperatures below freezing, trying to sort through her feelings of having lost a very close friend. After giving hours worth of statements to detectives, although Kinsel was free to go home, she drove to the Tanner home to be with her best friend, Jennifer.

Garey, 45, who has been a dispatcher for 22 years, relieved Kinsel that night and said although she had to stay focused on what was going on, tears were in her eyes the entire shift.

“It was so difficult,” Garey said. “You know at that point, Bob was gone, but you had to make sure the other deputies, yours and other agencies, came home that night. You have to remain focused to take care of them.”

To keep Tanner’s memory close, Kinsel visits his grave every Jan. 8, leaving peach red-tipped roses.

Hate from the world

While dispatchers handle difficult 911 calls daily — domestic violence calls, traffic crashes, calls asking for other government agency numbers or information, burglaries, robberies and, maybe the most disturbing, child abuse or death calls — they also handle inputting warrants, stolen items and missing persons reports.

But no dispatcher expected the venomous calls they received in October after Zanesville resident Terry Thompson released 56 exotic animals and then killed himself.

Deputies, along with members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, had to hunt down and kill almost all the lions, tigers, bears, monkeys and wolves that Thompson released. Six of the remaining exotic animals are being quarantined at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium until testing can be completed to see where the animals can be placed safely.

Dispatchers were getting about 70 calls per hour the next day — from around the world either threatening the dispatchers or deputies, shouting at them and calling them murderers or rapists.

“I even had one person tell me they hoped we all got cancer and died,” Kinsel said. “One caller said they hoped all the deputies involved would get shot. I’ve never had so many people cuss me out or show such hate towards me. And no one was from here. They were from around the world. Not one of them would listen to any explanation or reason. You just finally would have to hang up.”

‘Heartbreaking’

Kinsel said it was horrible to have to sit and listen to the gunshots and fear in the deputies’ voices that night.

An animal lover herself — Kinsel and her family have cats, dogs, fish and horses — she said it was “heartbreaking” knowing what was happening to the animals.

“But my first job is to make sure my people are OK,” Kinsel said. “Our first objective is officer safety and getting them home to their own families every night.”

Garey, who also worked the day after Thompson released the animals, said she, too, was shocked by the hatred in the phone calls.

“And we couldn’t just stay on the line with them,” Garey said. “We had to answer the other calls in case there was a real emergency.”

Garey and Kinsel say they have to leave disturbing calls at the office.

Garey said she focuses on her family, while Kinsel focuses on family and her art.

“We all have lives outside the office,” Garey said. “I follow the newspaper, but sometimes I don’t even know what the end result of one of the calls I took. I just can’t. The calls involving children are the worst, and if you let it, those calls could really mess up your mind and emotions. You have to put the phone down and walk out.”

Kinsel said although dispatchers have learned how to leave their emotions at the door doesn’t mean they don’t emphasize with the caller.

“But we can’t get attached,” Kinsel said.

Read the story here.

“Our hope is with this issue to have a resolution in place in the next few weeks and in the meantime we certainly have backup systems in place to make sure service isn’t affected whatsoever,” said Kelowna deputy fire Chief Jason Brolund. “I don’t want to downplay the issue, but I also want to make sure everyone is aware we are working on it and there is a plan in place.”

However, some fire chiefs in rural areas of the South Okanagan are saying they aren’t having the same “seamless” transfer of dispatch services that the regional district touted last month.

Several departments have been experiencing problems with radio communication since the 9-1-1 services were transferred from the Penticton Fire Department dispatch centre to Kelowna in early December, when the new contract began with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen.

The service was provided by Penticton fire department for 20 years prior, but Kelowna outbid several groups to win the five-year contract from the RDOS.

Since the transition started on Jan. 1 dropped calls, and garbled, incoherent communications have resulted in some frustration as regional departments attempt to deal with the issue.

“The first three calls we received after the switch to Kelowna were really bad,” admitted Keremeos fire Chief Jordy Bosscha. “It has improved somewhat since then — the last few have improved.”

Bosscha said that were it not for the additional system of “rip and run” — a faxed transmission of the call that is sent to the fire hall that includes the address, cross streets, access codes and additional information — the department would not have had a clue as to what each call was about.

Kaleden fire Chief Darlene Bailey reports the department continues to have problems with signal quality. She has been in contact with the regional district regarding the problem, most recently on Jan. 5, when two motor vehicle accidents occurred in Kaleden in the morning and some very poor communication with Kelowna dispatch resulted.

Bailey took the issue of bad dispatches up with Brolund in Kelowna.

“I told him I was looking at hiring a technician to take a look at our situation,” she said. “But he advised me to wait, as they were aware of the issue and were attempting to deal with it by switching the service provider for the signal from Kelowna to Penticton, something they will be working on around the 15th of the month.”

Penticton fire Chief Wayne Williams said so far he is satisfied with the Kelowna dispatch service and how they have been dealing with the transition issues. He said they also have had some problems with unclear dispatches that seemed to be resolved on the weekends and evenings.

“Kelowna is dealing with it and we do have backups in case it comes through garbled. Kelowna has really stepped up to the plate to ensure we have a very professional dispatch service here,” said Williams. “We have had a couple that were hard to understand, but they say it twice and we can make sense what is happening along with the rip and run printer right near the fire truck. I think things will be changing next week and hopefully we don’t have that problem again.”

Brolund said the communication teams have been working diligently to resolve the issue, which he hopes is the last in the transition.

“It revolves around the quality of the audio and it comes and goes, but there is a level of static present that we would like to improve,” said Brolund.

The Kelowna deputy fire chief said upgrades to the link between Kelowna and Penticton should clean up the audio quality, which will be followed by additional testing and monitoring.

“All our systems are designed as such there is no single point of failure. One of the improvements we offered with the new dispatch service is providing departments with the rip and run, paper copy of the details of the call they are going to so they can grab it at the fire hall and bring it on the truck with them,” said Brolund.

A former Penticton dispatcher told the Keremeos Review that the area isn’t ready for the Radio Over Internet Protocol.

“It was the plan of the RDOS and Kelowna’s bid to save money by using the Internet to go to each department individually and thus be able to eventually get rid of the mountain top linking sites on Kobau and Beaconsfield. There is nothing wrong with the radio equipment; it works very well and does not suffer from the same jitteriness and missed words that is presently happening,” said the dispatcher, who preferred anonymity.

The dispatcher said the ROIP jitter and latency has to do with use of bandwidth and sharing business lines, which are better than the average home Shaw line, with other users. The former dispatcher said this is why the radios sound better on nights and weekends when business use is way down.

Brolund did not want to comment on the Internet line provider, but did say they are increasing the capacity of the link between Kelowna and Penticton.

“It is the advice of our communications team that it should go a long way towards resolving the problem,” said Brolund.

RDOS emergency services supervisor Dale Kronebusch said there have been a few issues fire departments have brought forward, but these are expected as they are only one month into the transition. Besides the distorted dispatches, they are also working on mapping which firetrucks should be responding to what areas.

“I think conservatively it will take three to six months to work the issues out, but so far we are doing fine. We will know a lot more soon with the dedicated IP line,” said Kronebusch.

Read the story here.

PARKERSBURG, WV — Instructors with the Wood County 911 Center are providing emergency medical dispatch training to dispatchers from surrounding counties.

The training has helped other 911 centers get in compliance with legislation passed in June 2011. House Bill 2013 mandates all 911 dispatchers in West Virginia receive emergency medical dispatch training, allowing them to provide medical assistance and give medical instructions over the phone.

With the bill’s passage, West Virginia became the 15th state to mandate such training.

While the Wood County 911 Center has been EMD-certified for eight years, nearly two dozen other counties need to catch up.

“Our two EMD instructors have trained Jackson, Ritchie and Pleasants counties in the past year to help them get up to speed,” said Randy Lowe, 911 center director. “This is good legislation, and it will make sure the caller gets the same quality 911 services in every single county in West Virginia.”

Dispatchers must undergo 40 hours of EMD training, and EMD software or medical cards must be purchased as supplemental materials.

“This kind of training saves lives. For example, dispatchers can give instructions on how to perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver over the phone,” said Lowe. “We had one instance where a dispatcher talked a grandmother through the process of dislodging something from her infant grandchild’s throat.”

Dispatchers with EMD training can assist with medical emergencies of all kinds, from administering first aid to delivering a baby, while the callers wait for an ambulance to arrive.

Every dispatcher with the Wood County 911 Center is EMD-certified. In addition, they must undergo about 80 hours of supervised, on-the-job training and complete 24 hours of continued training every two years.

“We take pride in our training. West Virginia is a leader in 911 services,” said Lowe.

All 50 dispatch centers in West Virginia must meet the requirements of the bill by July 2013.

Read the story here.

The new employees will complete five weeks of training followed by several weeks of shadowing experienced dispatchers and call-takers, said Terry Baxter, interim director of the newly created 911 Public Safety Communication Department.

The 911 call center was under the direction of the Information Technology Department, but Mayor Dewey Bartlett signed an executive order in December that created the new department, effective Jan. 3.

Also last month, the city reached an agreement with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1180, the union for 911 center employees, that will increase entry-level pay by 17 percent.

Hourly pay in 2011 was $11.98. In 2012 it increased to $13.48 and it is set to increase in 2013 to $14.01.

Baxter said he thinks the changes will help to increase morale and stabilize staffing at the center. But, he said, it will take more trained staff to see a marked improvement.

“The first thing we need to do is get bodies trained so there are people here to answer phones,” Baxter said.

The first bit of training will focus on learning the geography of the city of Tulsa – how the street naming system works, what police and fire divisions are where. Then the trainees will learn how the phone equipment works and call control.

“How to – in essence – get the answers you need for the response that happens,” Baxter said. “There is different information we like to collect in a sequence.”

Getting that sequence right is like learning a script so that police and fire personnel have some continuity, he said. The new dispatchers will also ride along with emergency personnel to get an idea of the relationship between the dispatcher and a person on the street, Baxter said.

The trainee will then sit and take calls with an experienced dispatcher who will listen in and who can take over if the situation calls for it.

The current eight-person class is larger than a typical class, which usually has about five new employees, Baxter said. This class took longer to form because the contract negotiations were ongoing in the fall, he said.

When union and city officials announced the new contract Dec. 29, there were 64 operational employees, City Manager Jim Twombly said last month. The department is authorized for 85 positions, excluding supervisors, he said.

Baxter said staff shortages could be a problem until more employees are hired and even during training. Supervisors are coordinating the training classes for the employees. Baxter said he wants to hire a training coordinator, but if that person doesn’t have emergency certification, that person will also need training.

Although the center has been its own department for only a week, Baxter said he thinks the new contract and new employees on the way will improve morale, which will help the department keep employees at the center.

“We want to make this a career more than a job,” he said.

Read the story here.

At least twice in 2011, Putnam County dispatcher Jason Bedwell had the opportunity.

“Twice in the last year I’ve heard Jason calmly give CPR (instructions) over the telephone,” 911 Director Dave Costin said. “There are probably other times that I don’t know of, but that’s two people alive today because of Jason. To me, that’s a hero in action.”

The lives he’s helped save and his everyday hard work and devotion made Bedwell an easy choice for 2011 Dispatcher of the Year.

“I wish I could clone Jason’s attendance,” Costin said. “He’s hardly ever ill and rarely takes time off. Sometimes we have to schedule him time off.”

Costin said Bedwell is willing to work overtime, to take on extra shifts when needed and is always to work on time.

“He’s one of those employees I hardly ever have to think about because I know he’s doing his job,” Costin said.

More importantly to Bedwell’s chosen line of work, he isn’t easily rattled.

“He’s very calm and composed under fire,” Costin said.

In the case of the two life-saving opportunities of the last year, Bedwell barely raised his voice in helping the citizens perform CPR on their loved ones.

“It was just like a machine the way he gave it out,” Costin said. “Both times the person survived. He kept them going until the ambulance got there.”

Besides all the necessary traits of a good dispatcher, Bedwell’s boss also praised his sense of humor and wit, calling him “a pleasure to work with.”

Bedwell has been a full-time dispatcher for nearly four years following more than two years working part time. Prior to this, he worked for the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department as a jailer and on security detail at the courthouse.

“He has been a devoted county employee,” Costin said.

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The Cedar Rapids 911 dispatchers just started taking medical emergency calls this year.  And after extensive training, that call from a hysterical mom two weeks ago on December 2nd put their skills to the test.

“Cedar Rapids 911 what’s the address of the emergency?” asked Cedar Rapids 911 Dispatch I Kelliann Dykstra.

Kelliann Dykstra had only been a 911 dispatcher for four months before getting this call.

“I need an ambulance, my baby won’t wake-up and he’s stopped breathing,” said mother Rebeca McCorkle.

It was 18-year-old Rebeca McCorkle frantically trying to wake-up her then one week old son Charles, Junior.

“It’s the scariest, worst feeling in the world,” said McCorkle.

“I just knew I needed to get her help and figure out where to go in the card set to give her the right instructions,” said Dykstra.

It’s a true matter of life and death, so veteran dispatcher Andrew Huffman stepped-in.

“Ma’am, stay on the line I’m going to tell you exactly what to do next ok?  Slightly tilt the head back and put your head next to his mouth,” said Cedar Rapids 911 Dispatch II Andrew Huffman.

A step-by-step process Huffman instructed to a panicked McCorkle while holding back his own emotions.

“Especially this particular call one of the biggest instincts I know I have as a new father and a lot of parents have is to do everything you can,” said Huffman.

But Huffman kept to the script, until he heard the sound he was waiting for.

“C’mon honey,” said McCorkle.

“Did I just hear him crying just a little bit?” asked Huffman.

“Yeah a little,” said McCorkle.

“Somebody crying means they’re breathing means they’ve got a fighting chance,” said Huffman.

“By the time he was screaming the medics got there,” said McCorkle.

Two weeks later, Charles Junior is preparing for his first Christmas.  A healthy infant son is McCorkle’s gift, with a special thank you to the two responsible for his survival.

“I would just say thank you, because honestly without them helping, I don’t think I could have kept it together and did anything right.  I would have probably curled up and he really wouldn’t be here,” said McCorkle.

Since March, the Cedar Rapids 911 dispatchers have helped five people who were not awake or breathing when someone called on their behalf, start breathing and gain consciousness before medics arrived. Two of the five people were infants.

Read the story here.