9 Things Dispatchers Should Know

1. A dispatcher should be familiar with the address of the stations he/she dispatches.

2. A dispatcher should know that Greely is not pronounced "girly".

3. A dispatcher should understand that at 3am "pumper 7" and "pumper 17" sound quite the same when said at the beginning of the dispatch and not repeated. And not get snippy when called and asked "did you dispatch pumper 7 or pumper 17?"

4. A dispatcher should understand the difference between handheld radios and station speakers. (see post below)

5. A dispatcher should understand that when he/she talks on the phone to you over her head set you cannot hear her and when you ask her to repeat 17 times she might want to try the regular phone.

6. A dispatcher should understand the difference between Melody Ct and Melody Dr and not get snippy when you explain the difference....after all you are the one sitting in front of the house.

7. A dispatcher should understand the territory he/she dispatches well enough to understand that it is impossible for there to be a motor vehicle accident at the corner of two streets that run parallel to each other!

8. A dispatcher should understand why it is important to know if the accident on south bound 1-70 at 635 is east or west of 635 ...think about it.

9. A dispatcher should not need to know why you need PD on scene. If you're asking, you need them!