Matthew Santoni, The Examiner
2007-04-13 07:00:00.0
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Harford County -

Mark Hemler has assisted in the birth of four children without ever seeing their faces. His co-workers have walked men and women through some of the most frightening moments in their lives — but often don’t know if the person on the other end of the phone line will live.

Hemler and more than 70 other dispatchers and call-takers at the Harford County Emergency Operations Center are the first link to help for thousands of people in distress each year — “unsung heroes” who were honored this week with a proclamation by County Executive David Craig.

The call center is responsible for helping to ensure a timely and safe response in any emergency, Craig said, and its personnel have to get the most accurate information possible from people in situations of extreme duress.

“Dispatchers have one of the most stressful jobs out there — second maybe to air-traffic controllers — mostly because we don’t know how the call ends,” said Mike Sherman, a shift manager at the center. The average employee works for five to seven years before switching to a better-paying job or burning out, he said.

Though they may be the first to hear when a person needs help, the dispatchers are often last to know the outcome — often relying on friends or co-workers in other departments to inform them of what happens after the emergency has been turned over to the fire department or police, Sherman said.

“The most stressful calls I get are the ones involving children,” Hemler said. “It just eats at your heart. They’re always the calls that you remember.”

Occasionally, incidents cause such stress that they require counselors or clergy to be brought in for the center’s staff to talk to, and leave is usually given to those who need time to recuperate.

Such was the case after a fatal fire in Abingdon that killed two adults and three children in the Shropshire family, Sherman said. Another example was the death of Deputy First Class William Beebe, who died of a heart attack while on his way to an emergency call.

As the county grows, the center is among the first places to feel the crunch — its dispatchers are responsible for juggling fire and ambulance equipment from one call to another, even as incidents mount and they must draw responders from farther afield. After bringing in eight new workers through a four-week training academy and an internship program, the center is short about four positions and still looking to expand, Sherman said.

Craig came to the center Wednesday in honor of the national Public Safety Telecommunications

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com