FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Monday is the first day of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.
These men and women are vital in helping keep first responders and citizens safe in our community.
Dispatch officers everywhere are being celebrated this week for their hard work and dedication.
"We move from one emergency to the next and sometimes, without any breaks at all. These dispatchers have a very rough job, so we want to make sure they get a chance to decompress," says American Ambulance Communications Director Jamie Martin.
The Fresno County Communications Center is responsible for all ambulance calls in Fresno, Kings and Madera Counties, as well as several Valley fire agencies.
Dispatchers must to prepared for any type of situation and medical emergency.
"When you call 911, you're potentially having the worst day of your life and these dispatchers are trained to keep everybody calm, on task and help the situation however they can," Martin said. "They could help deliver a baby, provide CPR instructions or tell everyone to get out of a house that's on fire."
A staff of about 80 dispatchers is responsible for answering the 900 calls a day they receive.
Along with keeping callers calm, dispatcher officers are trained to collect as much information from them as needed to help those first on the scene.
"It's actually a very rewarding job," Martin said. "If you can find the right headspace to recognize that this isn't my emergency but I can affect somebody's life in a positive way, it's extraordinarily rewarding."