Intern Insight- Gary- Week 3

As a student when I went through high school I was always told not to drive intoxicated for the obvious reasons. But the schools I went too showed 1990’s videos with horrible actors and the videos were easier to laugh at than it was taking them serious. Well, in week 3 of my time at Cumberland County Public Safety I attended a mock accident at Carlisle high school. The driver’s education teacher had the students who were soon attending their prom watch emergency responders (fire fighters, police, ambulances, and even a medevac helicopter) perform their responsibilities at a fake crash. This mock accident was the closest you could ever get to a real accident, and I think it was great to see a school take steps like this to help their students understand the consequences of driving drunk. I think the students at high schools who see these types of mock accidents will always get more out of it than they would videos.

For most of the week I have been working on a project about post-traumatic stress disorder and how it affects responders and dispatchers. For those who don’t know, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an emotional illness that is classified as an anxiety disorder and usually develops as a result of a terribly frightening, life threatening, or otherwise highly unsafe experience. Because those who work as a dispatcher are exposed to constant traumatic events, or go through a series of traumatic events they could begin to develop PTSD. I think this project is important because dispatchers work 12 hour shifts and they deal with traumatic calls every day. I have been trying to come up with different activities that can be done to help dispatchers cope with the everyday events, and how they could lower their stress levels. PTSD and the way it affects dispatchers is one of the biggest lessons learned in my time at Cumberland County Public Safety.

Intern Insight- Gary, Week 2

My second week here was great. I got to see more behind the scene operations, and was able to attend some meetings which were very helpful. Before this internship I did not know about all the work people in emergency management do on a day to day basis. There is so much time and effort put in to make sure counties are ready for even the worse of disasters.

This week I got to attend a meeting where several counties got together and discussed projects and exercises that each county was currently working on. I enjoyed this meeting because it showed how coordinated central Pennsylvania is. The counties that were involved in this meeting are also planning on doing a group exercise which again shows how coordinated and together our area is. After attending this meeting, I feel pretty comfortable that if a disaster or tragic event were to occur then the situation would be handled the best it could.

Personally I would love to be an emergency management coordinator for my county or have a job that has responsibilities in this field. This week I was able join in a meeting where a new coordinator was being brought up to speed with his/her responsibilities and different materials that would be needed. It was great to have the ability to see how well important information is transferred to new personnel.

Lastly I was able to tag along to one of Pennsylvania’s premier college’s and attend a meeting about an exercise that would test the preparedness of the emergency personnel and the school officials. I don’t think people really know how much thought schools put in to exercises or events that could possibly happen in real life and take the lives of students and faculty. It was such a great experience and it was nice to know that schools do worry about these types of situations and take steps to protect their students and faculty.

Intern Insight- Gary, Week 1

Our new intern has arrived and is excited to be blogging to tell you about his experience with us!  Gary comes to us from Central Penn College and is majoring in Homeland Security!         

My first week at Cumberland Counties Communication Center was a great experience. I like most people did not know what really goes on a 9-1-1 call center. I also did not know what to expect when I got a tour of the facilities. I want to try to describe the facility so you can get a picture of what this place looks like. Imagine a building that has a bunch of offices, where many of the staff members have multiple monitors. I thought it was cool to see the Emergency Operation Center. For those who don’t know what an Emergency Operation Center is, it’s a huge room where emergency management officials handle long term issues that arise from a disaster. This room has more computers than a College computer lab. This room is filled with huge smart boards, which during the time of an emergency would display just about every important detail needed by the officials that would be in the room. The 9-1-1 center which is the next room over is just as amazing. In the 9-1-1 center there are a number of stations. Each station has a different duty. For instance, one station might deal with the fire department and EMS, while another station would deal with the police department. Then there are stations that backup other stations that need help because they are getting too many calls at one time. Each station worker has the ability to read real time information that would be on 1 of his/her multiple monitors.

I hope I detailed the facility enough that you could possibly have a decent picture in your mind. Trust me this facility is a thing of beauty, which I think is great. This week after I met many of the faculty members and got myself situated and I began doing some work. I began a project that has a good deal of importance. I began sending by mail a couple papers to organizations or facilities in the County that save lives or help the elderly. These papers include needed information about the generators they use, and if they never thought about having a generator maybe now they would begin to think about obtaining one. Generators are very important because during an emergency if power would go out they would need a backup to keep their facilities running. This week I also attended my first staff meeting. The staff meetings here are much different than the ones I have had at other jobs. The meetings are not simple 5 minute greeting meetings. Instead they are filled with key information that enables the staff members to be on the same page like training dates and details on different projects that are going on.  The County has a great group of people that love their jobs, and are very serious about the work they do here.

Wildfire threat...again!

As we post yet again this morning about the wildfire threat, I felt it an important time to look a little deeper into the threat we’ve been facing in Cumberland County.  I’ve had several people ask me why there is a threat.  “It just rained the other day” and “everything looks green” are two of the common comments I’ve heard.  Don’t let rain and your green lawn fool you…this threat is very real!

As much as we at DPS and most residents in Cumberland County enjoyed a mild, almost snowless winter, it comes at a price.  Each year the leaves fall from the trees and blanket the mountain and forest floors.  As winter moves into the area and snow begins to fall and accumulate in these areas that leafy blanket becomes saturated with moisture and begins to decay.  What does not decay remains pretty moist as we transition into the spring months.  This damp and decaying layer is not optimal for wildfires and almost offers protection until the wooded areas become lush and green again. 

The lack of snow this year means this dead leafy ground cover is dry and thick and prime to catch fire and burn.  Dry leaves are a great fuel source for fire and the refreshing breezy spring air will stoke a fire and help it spread rapidly.  It does not take much to start a fire in these conditions; a small spark will do the trick. 

This threat is likely to remain unless our area starts seeing large amounts of saturating rain.  We are asking residents and visitors to be responsible and take precautions.  Remember to avoid the burning of trash and debris, properly extinguish and dispose of cigarettes and when visiting our beautiful state parks, be responsible campers when partaking in campfires and meal preparation.  Yep folks, Smokey is right…Only you can prevent wildfires!   

Final Words- TCW-2012

As we close out Telecommunicator Week in Cumberland County we just want to express once more our sincere appreciation for the men and women staffing our 9-1-1 center.  They do a job most people would not want to do, and provide a service that is often taken for granted.  They are here day in and day out, holidays, weekends and nights not excluded.  They diligently answer a call for help and experience the joys of hearing a new born baby crying for the first time and the lows of a listening as a person takes their final breath before help can arrive.  They are rarely thanked and often deal with yelling, frantic and sadly sometimes short tempered callers.  This job is not for the faint at heart. 

We hope you will remember these 9-1-1 dispatchers, not just during Telecommunicator Week, but every week.  Every time you see a fire truck responding through your town, a police officer drive by or an ambulance heading to a hospital, take a second to think about the dispatcher that sent them.  Think of that dispatcher that answered a call for help during someone’s darkest moment and the dispatcher that made sure that help was on the way.   

We at DPS witness the good these individuals do on a daily basis and can assure you that if you ever have to dial 9-1-1 you are in good hands!

THANK YOU CUMBERLAND COUNTY 9-1-1 DISPATCHERS TODAY, TOMORROW AND ALWAYS!

Card System

Blast from the Past

We are starting Telecommunicator Week off with a little blast from our past!  Check our these pictures from past 9-1-1 centers we've operated in!



Our first home in the basement of the Cumberland County Courthouse!



Dispatcher in action in the old 9-1-1 center

Couthouse basement

Old call taker position



Basement of the prison



Cumberland County Telecommunicator Week

April 2, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:    Megan Silverstrim, Cumberland County

                        717.218.2913

Cumberland County Commissioners Proclaim Telecommunicator Week

Cumberland County, Pennsylvania– The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners proclaimed April 9^th-13^th as Cumberland County Telecommunicator Week during their regular meeting today.  The purpose of this week is to recognize the efforts of the 38 Department of Public Safety 9-1-1 dispatchers who answer the calls for help from residents and visitors in Cumberland County.

Telecommunicator Week, a nationwide initiative, was first established in 1991, with the intent of bringing to light the hard work and accomplishments of our nation’s public safety dispatchers.  In 2011, Cumberland County 9-1-1 dispatchers answered 346,536 incoming calls.  Dispatchers are not only a life line for those calling the center for help, but also for the emergency services personnel who respond.  Whether investigating a crime, fighting a fire, caring for a patient, 9-1-1 dispatchers are there for the first responders who need more resources or may find themselves in danger and in need of help themselves.

Cumberland County dispatchers are responsible for the answer of 9-1-1 calls and dispatch of emergency services personnel Cumberland County as well as Fulton County.  For more information on the Department of Public Safety and the 9-1-1 Communication Center visit www.ccpa.net.

#  #  #