April 6, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SH2007-26) FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION R. Steve Huffman Public Information Officer (251) 208-2857/Fax: (251) 208-2861 E-Mail: huffman@cityofmobile.org NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK – APRIL 8-14 The link between the citizen and the firefighters/firemedics is the Communications Division of the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. During the week of April 8-14, 2007 the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department’s Communications Division will be celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. The job of PSD can be very demanding and stressful and it takes a special kind of person to do the job. The division’s 13 Public Safety Dispatchers (PSDs) handle over 26 thousand emergency and non-emergency telephone calls each year fore the department. They also dispatch and coordinate the fire and rescue units who respond to those calls. It takes less than 60 seconds between the time you call 911 and the time the alerting system sounds in the fire stations. The PSDs field calls from citizen’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are responsible for receiving and dispatching all emergency requests for fire, medical and other emergencies. Additionally, they are responsible for providing emergency medical dispatch and pre arrival medical instructions for medical calls. Calls for service are also routed to the Communications Division through non-emergency lines of the department. These administrative lines relay the majority of calls for service, which are processed either by the dispatch of a fire or rescue unit or by referral to the appropriate authority. The dispatchers work a 12 hour shift and there is a Radio Communications Officer (RCO) on each shift that is the shift supervisor. There are a total of 3 PSDs on duty at a given time who works round-the-clock to assure citizens that their needs are met promptly and properly. All of our PSDs are trained and board certified by the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatchers (NAEMD) out of Salt Lake City, Utah. ###