Early in the morning of August 26, 1998, 26-year-old Bernalillo County (NM) telecommunicator Mary Margaret Sosa left her co-workers at the Sheriff's Dispatch Center during her prescribed lunch break. She had gone to pick up meals for herself and the on-duty midnight shift dispatch crew. She never returned.
A drunk driver smashed into the car she was driving and killed her, less than 3 miles from the Comm Center.
The news stunned her co-workers, who were faced with handling the emergency response as well as dealing with their own reaction to the incident. Members of the New Mexico State EMS Critical Incident Debriefing Team responded to the dispatch center to assist those telecommunicators who were on duty at the time of the incident. The young man who caused the accident was charged with vehicular homicide.
Mary Margaret started work for Bernalillo County in 1994 as a receptionist at the fire department. Wanting to be more directly involved in public safety, she joined the Sheriff's Department as an Emergency Communications Operator (ECO) in 1996. "In two short years, Mary Margaret developed a reputation as a caring and dedicated dispatcher," said Nat Arrieta, Bernalillo County's Communications Director. "She always had a smile and her co-workers believed she never had a `bad day' because she loved her job."
Arrieta responded to the dispatch center as soon as he heard the sad news. "I found professional dispatchers at their positions continuing to serve the public through a very difficult time for all of us," Nat told 9-1-1 Magazine. "I couldn't send them home. Oncoming shifts reported without complaint and the public never noticed a change. Units kept the radios clear, came by to assist and were very supportive."
During the funeral, on August 29th, both the Fire and Sheriff's Department provided Honor Guards and escorts.
"I am a retired Air Force Colonel and have served in many elite organizations, but I have never been prouder than I am of the public safety family," said Nat Arrieta. "The support and concern we have received from throughout the nation has been unbelievable. It has helped carry us through the hard times."
APCO Telecommunicator of the Year
At APCO's National Conference this August in Albuquerque, a number of awards were given out, including that of the 1998 International Public Safety Telecommunicator of the Year, which was awarded to Brenda Cantu of the Washington State Patrol. Brenda's acceptance speech, so much more than a simple Thank You For The Recognition, was a moving tribute to her fellow public safety telecommunicators which we are pleased to reproduce in part here. Thanks to Cindy Lorow of the APCO Bulletin for providing this transcript to 9-1-1 Magazine:
Eleven years ago I was looking for that perfect job, which was to be teaching history to high school students. But, I saw an ad in the newspaper for a communications officer for Washington State Patrol. I didn't have a clue what a communications officer was, but I met the minimum requirements: I was 18 and I could type 30 WPM. So I decided, OK, I'll try it until that perfect job comes along. Ten years later, guess what! I have that perfect job.
A few years ago I began teaching for the Criminal Justice Training Commission and it is a thrill. I thoroughly enjoy teaching that. I look at the plaque and it's like a puzzle to me because there are so many pieces that have come together and so many people who have helped me in the past 10 years.
So, I would like to take a few minutes and tell you about some of these people who put together these pieces. A large piece, of course, belongs to my family. They remind me every single day of what's truly important to me.
A piece belongs to my Comm center in Yakima - the best team I could ever hope to work for. A piece belongs to my co-instructors. Together we teach call receiving and dispatching. They are awesome and I'm always in awe of them. A piece belongs to our program coordinator, Robin Osburg, who makes it easy for us to go out and teach the classes that we thoroughly enjoy. And a piece of this puzzle belongs to each of you - my co-workers throughout the state of Washington and throughout this great country who at the drop of a headset is ready to help whether I need backup for a unit, to confirm a warrant or just a friendly voice.
A major piece of this puzzle belongs to my manager, Sandy Saffell. I would not be here tonight if it was not for her influence on my career. She's encouraged me when I've needed encouragement; she's given me direction when she felt I needed direction, and everyday I know she appreciates, not only what I do, but what my coworkers do. And that means a lot to a telecommunicator because we don't hear it a lot.
With that in mind I would like to ask each of you to think of a telecommunicator that does an outstanding job - whether you work with them, direct them or supervise them. And I ask each of you to recognize that person whether it's with a pat on the back, a thank you, or a bouquet of flowers. Nominate them for your local agency award, honor them with a local chapter award through APCO, or go for the whole enchilada and nominate them for the International Award. It's an honor to be nominated. It's unbelievable to stand here and accept it.
The APCO Bulletin has mentioned that telecommunicators are the unsung heroes and for that to change, it has to come from within us. And I think they are probably right. I challenge each of you to sing the praises of your unsung heroes.
Brenda Cantu,
Washington State Patrol
Fund Established in Memory of Dispatcher's Slain Husband
29-year old public safety dispatcher Lydia Chavez was just a few hours away from the midnight end of her shift at the Laguna Beach (CA) Police Department. It was a hot Sunday at the end of August, 1998. It was also the end of Lydia's 40-plus hour week and she was looking forward to spending the weekend with her husband, Eddie, and their "kids" (two very cherished English Bulldogs). An hour or so earlier, Eddie had called to say he missed her and to hurry home. Lydia has been talking to her friend and co-worker, Suzy Lenyi about how good it would be to have a few days off at home in nearby San Clemente.
When the dispatch center door open and Chief of Police Jim Spreine walked in with some other people, the two women were naturally surprised due to the time and day. They soon found out that the Chief was there to deliver some very bad news to Lydia. The others, including a police chaplain, were there for support.
Shortly after Lydia's phone conversation with Eddie, a middle-aged woman neighbor of theirs had become involved in a heated argument with her landlord. She had chased the landlord out of her house brandishing a handgun. Eddie had heard the commotion and had gone outside to see what was going on, The woman turned her wrath on him and fired, striking him and almost instantly killing the 30-year old Eddie. She then set her own apartment building on fire and took her own life with the same handgun.
Chief Spreine had received a call from Orange County Sheriff's deputies who had responded to the scene; they recognized the victim as Lydia's husband because Lydia had been a dispatcher for them prior to coming to Laguna Beach, and still worked part-time as an Orange County dispatcher.
Lydia's fellow employees have donated vacation time to her account to allow her as much time as she needs to grieve. She and Eddie, like many of us, lived on both their incomes, and now Lydia is faced with many expenses and half the income. A memorial fund had been established in Eddie's name. Anyone wishing to help can go to any Wells Fargo Bank branch and make a deposit of any size into the Ed McQuown Memorial Fund, account number 6221977408. Please join her friends and fellow police employees in giving what you can.
Mary Jones,
Laguna Beach Police Communications
CML's 2-County/One Switch 9-1-1 Operation in New Mexico
CML Technologies Inc. reports that the replacement 9-1-1 system for Lea and South Eddy County, NM, by GTE is in full operation. United through the CML ECS-1000 selective router and controller are the Cities of Hobbs and Carlsbad, and the six surrounding municipalities of Eunice, Jal, Lovington, Tatum, Lea County, and Eddy County.
George Cook, Senior Account Manager with GTE New Mexico, stressed that the efficiency of call transfer gained with PSAP to PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) communication through one system, as well as the realization of a cost savings in making a collective purchase, was the perfect solution.
"Aside from its year 2000 compliance, the controller equipment in place allows for the automatic routing of calls to the proper agency and makes the transfer of calls to other agencies, such as Carlsbad, that much easier," said Captain J.R. Holler, Technical Services Division for Hobbs Police Department. "Since we access a lot of the same information, it's nice to have the ECS-1000 selective router assisting us in transferring calls."
Swiftwater Rescue Award Nominees Sought
The Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) is seeking nominations for the 1999 Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater Rescue.
The awards recognize outstanding achievement in the field of swiftwater-flood rescue. The deadline for submission is February 17th, 1999. For more information and copies of the nomination forms, please contact: Mr. Paul McMinn, NASAR Swiftwater Rescue Committee, c/o South Bend Recreation Dept., 727 Eddy St., South Bend, IN 46615. 219/235-9328.
According to an AP News report, a gopher apparently chewed through a fiber optic cable in Portales, New Mexico, last August, cutting 9-1-1 and long distance phone service to about 6,800 U.S. West customers. AP quoted Deborah Sedillo Dugan, a U.S. West spokeswoman in Albuquerque: "We think it's a gopher chew." The 1/2-inch thick cable was buried 4 feet underground. The break occurred just north of Portales, 20 miles from the Texas border.
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Emergency Dispatch Voice by Eric D. Ruggeri A little more than one year ago, the Los Angeles County Fire Department lost one of its most famous men. Even though almost everyone involved in emergency services from the 70's-on knew this man, few actually knew his name - Sam Lanier. Sam started in the Los Angeles County Fire Department in late 1958 as a civilian fire dispatcher, after leaving the service and moving west from his birthplace in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Sam was best known in his fire service career for his role as the voice of the fire dispatcher in the hit television series, EMERGENCY! That show, which aired on NBC from 1972-1978, focused on the model paramedic program started by Los Angeles County Fire. Spurred by the publicity derived from the TV show, LA County's program sparked the nationwide move toward fire department paramedics. Although his name never appeared in any of the show's credits, Sam's voice was heard in each of show's 136 episodes, both over the opening credits and during every dispatch given to the then-fictitious "Station 51." According to Jim Page's book, The Emergency Companion, Page (a former EMS Chief and consultant to the show) cited his reason for recommending Sam to producer Bob Cinader was that "he had a great voice and an even cadence while broadcasting... Over the years I never heard him lose his composure or confuse his role with that of a field commander." Just as the show Emergency! inspired many to choose careers in EMS and the fire service, Sam sparked an interest for me to become a fire dispatcher and later involved in EMS and police work. Being the EMERGENCY! fan I am, I set out on a quest a few years ago to locate the man behind this famous voice. After contacting Brian Humphrey at the Los Angeles Fire Department's Public Information Office, I was directed to Jim Page, now Chairman of JEMS Communications. Page referred me to the County's Retirement Association, which was gracious enough to forward a letter to Sam. Lo and behold, a few weeks later Sam replied and enclosed some photographs of the show's cast and himself. He was tickled pink that someone would go to such great lengths to track down such a "star." I kept in occasional contact with Sam over the next year or so, both by telephone and through e-mail over the Internet. Sam would tell me stories about what it was like to be part of such a monumental program and the close relationship he shared with the other members of the cast and crew. Since the fire department that I'm associated with now is coincidentally numbered Station 51, I sent him t-shirts and patches from our company to amuse him. Sam retired from the Fire Department soon after the television series stopped production in 1978. After being diagnosed with a heart problem, he entered the private sector as a Fire Safety Advisor to film production companies filming in the Los Angeles area. I decided to give Sam a call in early June of 1997 to see what he had been up to. It had been about a month since we last chatted. His son David answered the phone. When I asked to speak to his father, he hesitated and finally told me, in a cracking voice, that Sam had passed away a few weeks earlier. Evidently, an accident had occurred in front of his residence in Culver City and Sam went out to try to assist at the crash scene when he collapsed of a heart attack. Sam died doing what he had devoted most of his life to, helping the citizens of Los Angeles County. Sam was 65 years young. "L.A. Clear." |
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South of the Border For the second time in two years, members of Crest REACT, a southern California chapter of the nation-wide amateur radio public safety organization, have journeyed to Mexico to donate used radios to Mexican fire departments. REACT (Radio Emergency Associated Communications Teams) is an independent non-profit public service organization providing skilled volunteer two-way radio communications, assisting in public safety by reporting emergencies and providing volunteer assistance during major incidents. REACT members monitor the emergency CB radio channel and report incidents - as many as 125 a month - to public safety or service response agencies. With nearly 400 members, Crest REACT is the largest REACT team in the world. In 1996, Crest REACT took fifteen donated simplex UHF radios to Mexico and gave them to needy fire departments in Rosarito Beach and San Luis. This summer they repeated the favor with another shipment - one base station, one mobile, and four handheld UHF radios, along with the necessary cabling and antennas - to Tepic, about 165 miles south of Mazatlan on Mexico's west coast. Mexican fire departments have few of the high tech communications and safety equipment that US departments take for granted; the gift of communications was gratefully accepted by Captain Mario Basulto Mares on behalf of the Mexican Fire Chiefs Association. REACT members in 1996 assisted in the installation of the mobile radios and base stations, which were tuned to existing fire frequencies. The team project was coordinated by Wayne Johnson, a retired fire captain who is on the REACT team. For information on REACT contact 800-99REACT. |
