These Are First Hand Stories from the Men and Women Who Work in 911 Dispatch Centers Across

These are first hand stories from the men and women who work in 911 Dispatch Centers across the State of Idaho. #WEARE911

You called 911 when you arrived home and found your husband was sick and possibly had a seizure. From the moment I answered the 911 line I knew by your voice exactly who you were. You advised he was diabetic and he had gotten very dizzy, he was taking very deep breaths but was not conscious. You advised that you were trying to get his blood taken but could not get any to come out. While asking you further questions you advised he was no longer breathing. You started mouth to mouth and were trying to get him on the floor to start CPR. I was giving instructions for CPR and trying to get that started; you advised you knew how and kept telling me over and over again that you needed help now; you needed someone to help your husband. Getting help there seemed like an eternity even though it wasn’t. You were breaking down when Law enforcement arrived on scene and took over CPR until medics arrived, however we were not able to save him. I was not able to take a break that day as my partner was still in training and could not be left alone. You are my Sheriff. #IAM911

You called 911 telling me your wife is sick. You said she seems to be struggling to breath and can’t catch her breath. While paging the ambulance out you advised me she is now unconscious, barely breathing, pale, and clammy. You told me you needed the ambulance fast. You told me the heart monitor is showing that her heart has almost stopped. I asked if you were still close to her, you told me yes you and your sister are holding her. You stated you think she is gone now. I kept giving you instructions to start CPR. You and your sister started to break down. I could finally hear you doing CPR and counting out loud while I was now talking to your sister. Your name seemed very familiar to me. It wasn’t till I took away your first name and looked at your address again. The next morning I was standing outside. I saw you. You asked me if I was working yesterday morning. I just shook my head yes. That’s all I could do. You raised your arms and motioned me over. You gave me the biggest hug as we both broke into tears. You kept telling me thank you, and how much you appreciated me helping you. You are my neighbor! #IAM911

You dialed 911. You and your husband had come home that evening to find your stepdaughter had hung herself in the garage. She was blue and cold to the touch. We tried CPR but she was already too far gone. For 20 minutes I sat with you, tried to offer comfort and waited for help to arrive while your husband begged God to bring her back. She was only 14. I still cry and mourn your loss. #IAM911

You called 911 because your niece was not breathing. She had been put to bed and when your dad checked on her she was not breathing. We did CPR. I asked her name and her face instantly popped into my head. She was 6 years old. One year younger than my own son and went to the same small elementary school as him. I saw her every week at the school. We were not able to save her. I was working alone and desperately needed to get some air when we hung up, but was not able to leave. Instead I forced myself to regain composure and continue on with the call, talking to the medics and deputies on the radio. I went home that night and slept between my own two children. #IAM911

You called 911 from a remote mountainside where you were snowmobiling & witnessed someone hit a tree. He was unconscious but breathing & for two hours we kept CPR going until the medics arrived. The victim’s dad & brother were right there. During the two hour wait you asked my name, you called me by name several times. You believed that together, we could save this boy. I believed it too, but we couldn’t. He was only 25. He and his dad & brother were on the mountain that day to spread the ashes of their other brother who had committed suicide. #IAM911

You called saying you had been shot. I listened as your husband shot you again, then shot himself. I stayed on the phone with you as you were lying in the snow, alone, dying. You kept asking where help was. I was the last person you ever talked to. It’s been over 15 years & I still cry. #IAM911

You called 9-1-1 after being up all night. You told me the voices in your head told you to kill yourself and that you thought you should do it. I talked with you, got to know you and got you using future thinking in the time it took for the officers to arrive. You thanked me over and over and the officer gave you a ride to the hospital to get you help. #IAM911

You called as your husband lay, not breathing. You needed help, so we got your neighbor and we did CPR until medics arrived. When they transported, your husband had a pulse. Your husband is alive today, because we did CPR together. #IAM911

You called 911 and said your husband had fallen and was not breathing. You said you could not roll him over to do CPR. I called your neighbor to come and help you. Your husband, my cousin died that day. I still think of you. #IAM911

You called 911 and called me by my name. You told me you thought your mom had passed away. You had your two little boys with you. I could hear them crying in the background and you said they were huddled on the floor board of your truck, scared. I sent everyone I could get a hold of. We were there in minutes, yet it seemed like an eternity. You and I cried, it was the first and only time I lost my composure on 911. I see you all the time, you are my friend, you are my coworker. We are connected forever. #IAM911

I am a newer dispatcher and when I was 3 months into call taking training I took a call from a father and his expectant wife. The baby was coming and the father knew they were not going to make it to the hospital before the baby came. I could hear the mother whimpering and breathing heavily in the background. The father was clearly a wreck and I told him to prep for the delivery of this baby. I thank God I had a good, supportive trainer and my APCO cards. I was shaking the entire time while staying calm on the phone. The expectant mother was pushing and the father was coaching and encouraging her and I was encouraging and instructing him. The whole scenario was happy chaos and a healthy baby boy was born. I cried happy tears with the father. The EMS crews arrived right after the baby was born and transported the happy couple to the hospital. I received a stork pin and that baby boy is almost 2 years old now! #IAM911

You called 9-1-1 and hung up. I called you back and found out that you were having a heart attack, but you’d called your mom who was on her way so you thought twice about calling 911. I kept you on the line and walked you through the aspirin diagnostic before paramedics arrived. I have you life-saving instructions and they go you to the hospital on time. #IAM911

I was the lifeline the morning my trooper was shot in the line of duty. We didn’t know his first stop of the day would have been the armed robbery suspect. My trooper was incapacitated immediately and hopefully he knew help was on the way. I worked my hardest to get him help quick and also to try and locate the suspect. My trooper, while in a wheelchair, is alive today. It was my first year on the job. #IAM911

This year I walked a mother through CPR after she cut her 14 year old son down after he hung himself. He was flown out to the highest level of care and has survived. That’s not normally how those incidents end unfortunately. #IAM911

Through an anonymous tip we knew you had been stabbed in the neck. The officers looked with what little information we had and never found you, we only had a vague vehicle description. It was only through the dispatcher’s diligence that we kept searching for clues and information as to where you might be – who you might be. We spent 13 hours never giving up on finding you. Finally we had enough information they found you. You were okay but the knife had barely missed your jugular and you could have died if it had hit it. #IAM911

Our agency received a 911 call was from (what we now believe to be a midwife) who called in regarding a newborn baby who was not breathing. The address the RP gave us did not verify in our CAD system, but our dispatcher was able to obtain correct landmarks for the address so responders could know where this was taking place. When asked “tell me exactly what happened”, the dispatcher was told by the RP that he was performing CPR on a newborn baby. Our dispatcher walked him through CPR until responders arrived and were able to take over. After the call, we found out from the ambulance crew that this had been a newborn baby who was just born in an at-home birth, and that mother and baby were both doing well at the hospital. #WEARE911

I heard you on the radio say you were in a vehicle accident. In almost the same breath, you said medical was needed. I knew your voice, I knew your tone, I knew you were hurt. My heart stopped. The world stopped. Not on my shift, no way. Medical was immediately dispatched with other police units. I went to the hospital later that night and held your hand while you rested. You now have a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful children. You will always have a special place in my heart. #IAM911

I stayed on the phone with you for 3 hours while we kept pinging your phone. You said you had already taken the pills and it was just a matter of time now. We talked about what was troubling you; your family, kids, pets, job, broken marriage, etc. We were so close to finding you twice before you would change locations again. I stayed with you on the phone until you lost consciousness. The officers finally cleared the call unable to locate. I took the call the next day when the hospital found you dead in your parent’s car in the parking lot. #IAM911

Our agency received a 9-1-1 call reporting a 17 year old who had collapsed while hiking with his family.The patient had a history of heart problems, and suffered trauma when he collapsed. Although the call came in from a cell phone, the GPS coordinates were unavailable. Access to the patient was extremely tough, but our dispatcher was able to obtain a general location for the patient and get directions for the responders. She talked the RP through how to do CPR on the patient, and did CPR on and off until responders got on scene (which felt like FOREVER)- the patient would begin breathing on and off again on his own throughout the call. One responder made it on scene, besides an air ambulance. The responder came in after the call and told dispatch that the patient was delivered to the air ambulance with a pulse, breathing on his own, and able to answer questions by blinking.#WEARE911

I heard your father was tased by your mother’s boyfriend, who then kidnapped you. I helped my trooper find the car you were in and get you safely away from the man who took you from your dad. I still think of you each day and pray you will never experience that kind of fear again. I promise to be as brave as you were for me that day. #IAM911

Last summer my co-worker helped a mother deliver her baby alongside the highway because the baby girl was not waiting to get to the hospital. She coached the caller and mother through labor instructions and a healthy baby girl was born, the mother still keeps in contact with the dispatcher today. #WEARE911

You decided your life was north worth living anymore. I could not stop you. You smiled and crashed your car head-on into a semi. I will never forget the screams of the driver in the semi as he was being burned alive. He survived and you did not. The smile in your voice still haunts me. #IAM911

When you called, I answered. We never spoke but I knew you needed me. I heard you cry for your life and your husband yell at you. My officers arrived and your husband shot himself with a bullet he’d meant for you. I’m still so happy you’re alive, we’ve never met, but we are forever linked. #IAM911

At 1257 the dreaded 911 line rang and little did I know as I reached to answer the call, that this call would forever change me… On the other line was my best friend’s husband, one of our own, had shot herself. I was screaming inside but did by job and sent our deputies, ambulance and Life flight As much as we all tried to save her, it was not to be… On that day our small close department lost one of our own. #IAM911

One dark night, my shift started like so many before. The 911 line sounds to a caller reporting a wrong way driver on the interstate. The next call reported a head on crash. As we get law enforcement, fire and EMS enroute to the scene the phones continue to ring. A Sgt is first on scene and comes across the radio with the complete sound of heart break in his voice. “The babies are gone, no one touch the baby.” As a dispatcher you just keep going, no time to be sad or emotional, stuff it down and deal with it later. As the call continues you’re advised the father is dead as well and the vehicle was struck, even with the seatbelt he was ejected and completely stripped of his clothing. The mother and the driver of the wrong way vehicle are alive. After the call was complete the officers called in, some describing the scene, some in tears, as this young family is no more. Later we found out the mother had a massive head trauma and the hospital personnel had to tell her over and over that her husband and baby had died. She went on to remarry and have another child. She also became a speaker. I was able to attend a speech she gave about the incident, about the driver who was very intoxicated and now serving time in prison. She had stated she didn’t want anyone to forget her family. I later sent her an email thanking her for speaking, for sharing her story, and for not giving up. I reassured her that I worked that night, that I would never forget them, that they will always be a part of me. #IAM911

I answered your 911 call on the first ring. I was there to help you with CPR when you found your 4 year old son face down, motionless in a pond. I stayed on the phone with you for over 20 minutes until help arrived. I listened to the noises in the background as water came out of his lungs, I stayed strong and encouraged you to continue when you were scared. I was strong, scared, and determined. I felt pain, sorrow and sadness. I felt hope and joy when I heard medics found a faint pulse as a result of our efforts. I felt sadness and sorrow when I heard he was in a coma. I respected your wish for privacy during this time. I have been in the dark. It has been 547 days since I talked to you on 911. I think about you and your family every day. I hope you have closure. I don’t… #IAM911

"You just watched your mom's boyfriend shoot himself in the head. It was so hard to hear the address from you over the screams of agony from your mother and your tearful pleas. You described what you saw and I heard you begging your mother to come out of the room; I heard you physically pulling her away because you didn't want her to see him in that state. I listened to you and your mother's painful screams and cries for me to help him. I dispatched the ambulance and I stayed on the phone with you until I heard that first unit arrive on the scene. I went home that night and cried myself to sleep. I read his obituary today and my heart hurts for you still. You're only 16 years old. This is not a burden any 16 year old should have to feel....to witness...to comprehend. Your pain and your voice is one I will never forget." #IAM911