Telecommunicator week at Grundy 911 center

MORRIS – Leslie and Robyn Coleman grew up understanding the life of a firefighter as their father, Bob Coleman, served as the fire chief for the Morris Fire Department for 35 years before he retired in 2012.

So it seemed natural to them to work as telecommunicators for the Grundy County 911 dispatch center, where they send people like their father and their brother, Grundy County Deputy R.H. Coleman, to help others.

“It’s hard, but it’s also easier when you know your dad or brother are on the scene,” Leslie Coleman said. “I know firsthand what is going on. I don’t have to be at home wondering.”

Robyn Coleman said that when they are working, the sisters know they have a job to do. They go into “dispatch mode” so they can get the men and women who serve the public in and out safely while also speaking to those on the scene who call in.

The sisters, as well as the other 16 full-time and three part-time telecommunicators in Grundy County, celebrated National Telecommunicator Week last week along with the rest of the country.

“Telecommunicators are often the first first-responders that really set the tone for how an incident will go,” said Bud Hicks, 911 director for Grundy County. “I have seen the outstanding work of a telecommunicator be the difference in criminal cases being solved immediately versus turning into a cold case, and I have seen a tremendous amount of quick thinking in fire and medical emergencies that resulted in life-saving outcomes.”

He said many people don’t realize all that telecommunicators do for the community. Each full-time telecommunicator works about 50 percent of the days each year, working 12-hour shifts either all day, or all night.

Kelly Cromwell, a full-time telecommunicator for Ottawa and a part-time telecommunicator for Grundy County, said a good telecommunicator has to have confidence, be a people person and be compassionate – but they also have to take command in situations that could become a life-or-death situation.

“The reason I do it, is self-gratification,” she said. “Not everyone can go home and say I helped someone today.”

The center celebrated with a cookout and bonfire Friday night where the telecommunicators and their significant others could get a bite to eat and catch up with those who work opposite shifts.