Fire Communications Supervisor Tracy Gonzales and Downey Fire Battallion Chief Dan Rasmussen inside the communication center at Downey’s Fire Station No. 1. (Photo by Eric Pierce)

DOWNEY – It is a process taught and memorized at an early age: in the event of an emergency, dial 9-1-1 and help should hopefully arrive to your location in a matter of minutes.

While it is usually the officers, firefighters, and medics that get the recognition, there is a middleman who is vital to this chain of events: dispatch.

Every 9-1-1 call made in Downey starts at Downey Police Department Dispatch.

Every day, for 24 hours a day, no less than two dispatchers sit in a small room within the DPD station, ready at a moment’s notice to field emergency calls and direct officers and other city resources accordingly.

“The dispatcher’s role is the first first responder in the city of Downey,” said Police Dispatch Supervisor Brian Flinn. “Whenever people dial 9-1-1 and they need the police, they’re not talking to a police officer, they’re talking to a dispatcher.”

Dispatchers go through rigorous training for around six months before going to another dispatch academy for three weeks.

The job can be quite demanding, consisting of over 13-hour shifts and often sensitive, time critical, and sometimes emotionally draining conversations.

“We field anywhere from burglary, to vehicles, to residences, parking complaints, disturbances, whether it’s family parties, music, that sort of thing, shoplifting at the local stores,” said dispatcher Margarita Wells.

Wells said that the main goal of a dispatcher is to provide service and safety to the community and its officers.

“We are the go between,” said Wells. “When they need assistance, we’re the ones they call and it’s our job to see to it that they get what they need, whether it’s medical or police; whatever they’re calling on, it’s our job to see to it that they get it.”

“No one calls the police department when they’re having a good day, so it’s our job, us as dispatchers, to de-escalate and get as much information as quickly as possible.”

Thankfully, things are not always hectic in the dispatch office, though Downey’s dispatchers ask that you refrain from ever using the word “quiet.”

According to Flinn, there are busier times of the year.

“Definitely during the summertime, especially on the weekends,” said Flinn. “A lot of people are having parties in their backyards; there’s a lot of folks that are out and about going to the bars, having a good time.”

“During the summertime when it’s hot outside, people, their tempers run a bit shorter; they won’t tolerate as much…it kind of elevates everything around it too.”

Of course, COVID-19 added a new layer of complexity to the job.

Along with being considered essential and needing to maintain their own safety, dispatchers now needed to figure out a way to provide the same service to the community without getting officers sick.

“There was a lot of adjustments; the government expectations were changing by the day,” said Flinn. “There was a lot of questions we didn’t have answers to. We kind of had to do the best with what we had.”

“Right off the bat, Margarita and one of our other dispatchers put together a protocol to screen for additional information for officers so that they’re not walking into a house where people might be sick.”

Though the job is not easy, dispatcher Marisa Ruiz says that she gets gratification from the members of the community that she speaks with.

“I think we hear it from the citizens as we’re speaking to them, especially on something tragic that’s going on in their home,” said Ruiz. “You hear that gratefulness that they have because you stayed on the line with them, you helped them through it until the officers got there to provide more help.”

“Also just knowing for yourself that you did the best that you could, and you provided the best job that you could for the citizens.”

Flinn said that the dispatchers in Downey are “some of the best trained in Southern California.”

“By and large, our training is the best; our dispatchers are the best that Downey has to offer,” said Flinn. “I would say that they are the best in Southern California, bar none.”

Fire department communications are handled by an 11-member team, led by fire communications supervisor Tracy Gonzales.

The team works out of Fire Station No. 1, where they handle fire and paramedic calls for not only Downey but also Santa Fe Springs and Compton.

“Those three cities on their own keep us pretty busy,” said Gonzales, who is in her 18th year with Downey.

There are at least two dispatchers working at all times, each working 12-hour shifts. The center is able to receive 911 text messages, and dispatchers have access to translators that speak over 135 languages.

If you’re ever in a position to call 911, Gonzales offered a few tips.

“I know it’s stressful, but try to stay as calm as possible,” she said. “We need to ask you a whole bunch of questions and a lot of people get really frustrated with us because they’re like, ‘Just get here.’ But when we’re asking these questions, it doesn’t delay the dispatching of our units.

“Also, do the best you can to know your location, any landmarks around you. Knowing what floor you’re on, or the apartment number you’re in, those little things that you don’t even think of, those are important for us to find you.”

Dan Rasmussen, the Downey Fire Department battalion chief who oversees the Downey Fire Communication Center, said dispatchers played a critical role in first response.

“When we talk about response time, this is truly where it starts,” he said. “The effectiveness of our dispatch center and our dispatchers’ hard work, that’s what gets our units to the scene as fast as possible. I’m really proud of the work that gets done in here.”

Eric Pierce contributed to this story.

Dispatchers are bridge between community and first responders