Time is of the essence: what you need to know when you call 911 for an emergency

BLACKFOOT — When there’s an emergency, time is of the essence when dialing 911.

When you call 911, what do dispatchers need to know from you?

“I would say the No.1 most important piece of information is always where they are at. That’s the biggest concern. We can’t send help if we don’t know where,” said Erin Hidalgo, 911 supervisor for the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office.

That means being mindful of where you have traveled and the routes you are taking. Be aware of landmarks around you, mile markers or road names that you pass. Hidalgo says there is technology that can help locate a person in an emergency if the caller isn’t sure where they are.

Although, it’s always best and quicker to get location information from the caller.

Dispatchers or emergency communications officers ask a lot of questions, but it’s all for a reason: so they know exactly who to send.

“Even though we are asking questions with the callers, we have already got help rolling in most cases, especially in an emergency incident, as long as we know what’s going on and where it’s at,” Hidalgo explained. “Our procedure is that we put in the call immediately, and responders are dispatched immediately.”

She explained there are a lot of emergency calls for vehicle accidents and medical emergencies.

Other important information during a 911 call is providing dispatchers with who, what, where, why and what is happening.

Sherry Glick, an emergency communications manager for the Idaho Falls/Bonneville County Emergency Communications Center, added that dispatchers have a responsibility to make sure the responders are not going into a dangerous situation unprepared.

“So if it’s an emergency like someone’s shooting or where someone could be injured, we need to know that information. But if it’s a medical call, we need to know what kind of a medical situation it is, and we’ll ask more questions so that our paramedics are prepared when they get there so they know what they are going to be facing,” Glick explained.

Glick said there are also some things that they can help the caller do in certain situations. For example, how to apply pressure to a laceration or if the caller needs to do CPR, dispatchers can guide them before help arrives.

If there’s a violent situation, they can advise you to get to a safe distance or safe location. They can provide information about how quickly the police will be there and where you can go to meet that police officer safely.

Another important element when calling 911? Listening.

“The biggest piece of advice I would give to every caller is to listen,” Hidalgo said. “Every single question that we ask has a reason behind it.”

Hidalgo has been with her department for 27 years. She says they dispatch for agencies like Blackfoot Police, Shelley Police, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Blackfoot Fire, Aberdeen Fire, Firth Fire, Shelley Fire and the Shelley-Firth Quick Response Unit.

She says each dispatcher is highly trained and spends six months training to know which questions to ask based on the emergencies that are being reported.

“In addition to the six-month training program, the dispatchers attend a two-week dispatch academy in Boise…and then our dispatchers also attend an emergency medical dispatch class … and then everybody is first aid and CPR certified,” she explained.

Then they attend suicide prevention and domestic violence training.

It’s a job that Hidalgo says many people do not know about.

“We don’t really see a lot about this on TV, so people don’t really know who we are and what we do. We are always in the background, but we are a part of every single emergency response there is,” she said.

As for Glick, she has been with her center for nearly 26 years. The center dispatches for police, fire, EMS and other first responders in Bonneville County, including Idaho Falls Police, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Ucon Police, Idaho Falls Fire & EMS, Ammon Fire, Ucon Fire and Swan Valley Fire.

She said dispatchers try to answer calls as quickly as possible.

“Our policy is to try and answer any 911 call in the first ring,” Glick said.

It’s a rewarding job, in the end, knowing that people are being helped.

“My favorite part is knowing that people are alive today because we did our job,” said Hidalgo.

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