WASHINGTON-The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials Inc. last week kicked off National Public Safety Telecommunications Week by honoring two 911 dispatchers involved in lifesaving emergency calls.
Missey Hammack of the Knox County Emergency Communications District was honored for her role in rescuing a 19-year-old woman who had been abducted in Alabama and locked in the trunk of a car by her former boyfriend. An Ohio couple driving on I-40 noticed debris and fingers dangling from a hole in the taillight of the car in front of them.
Dialing 911, the couple was connected with Hammack, who got the license number and mile marker and exit sign information and dispatched police to the scene.
Paula Franklin, a dispatcher in Maryland, helped a mother resuscitate her baby who had drowned in a bathtub. Franklin dispatched rescuers to the scene while instructing the mother on how to perform CPR.
Franklin and Hammack were honored at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, at which APCO also announced a national Public Service Announcement campaign called “We’re Looking for a Hero.”
“Each month in our APCO magazine and other selected publications we salute a public safety telecommunicator, supervisor, director or technician,” said APCO President Jack Keating. “This campaign allows us to recognize excellence in our industry, not just during National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, but for the entire year.”
APCO also highlighted legislation introduced last week by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) that would make 911 the universal emergency number in the United States. A similar bill passed the House of Representatives in February by a 415-2 margin.
