It's National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, an opportunity to show your appreciation for those who serve our community one phone call at a time.

A time dedicated to celebrating and honoring the people helping others during some of the worst moments of their lives

24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year, these unsung heroes work around the clock to ensure the safety and well-being of the general public and other first responders.

Public safety telecommunicators give countless hours of their lives in an emotionally taxing job, where 911 centers serve as the primary point for dispatching police, fire, and EMS responses.

In addition to answering and dispatching emergency calls, telecommunicators also provide medical pre-arrival instructions, activate weather alerts, and coordinate additional incident scene responses such as Child Protective Service or road commission

Erika Nyman, of Wexford County Central Dispatch, says being caring is part of the job, being able to help people makes the hard calls a little easier, and she appreciates the additional support she receives from coworkers and community members.

Nyman sat down and spoke with us, saying "You have to care about those people that call you have to care about making sure those people get the assistance that they need. You have to kind of have a backbone, you have to be tough. Most people if they know what your job is. They I hear it all the time. Thank you for what you do. We appreciate you I hear that regularly from people in the community. I definitely love this job. And if anybody has ever thought that maybe it's something that they want to get into, I encourage them."

Thank you to our Public Safety Telecommunicators for their hard work and dedication to our communities.