By Bremen Leak
A few times a year, city police officers, firefighters and medics receive warm thanks from the community as they ride in town parades.
But as the floats roll down Main Street, some public safety workers never see the confetti. Emergency medical dispatchers work day and night, sending help to distressed citizens. For dispatchers in Springville, some well-deserved recognition came Saturday, when the Department of Public Safety held an open house in their honor.
Supervisor to five full-time and three part-time emergency medical dispatchers, Springville Lt. Dave Caron said these dispatchers are directly responsible for saving lives.
'They take their job very seriously and they do it very well,' Caron said. 'As a result of those things public safety dispatchers sometimes don''t get the recognition they deserve.'
In celebration of 40 years of selfless service the dispatchers were honored at the open house from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Public Safety building located at 45 South Main Street in Springville. The event included tours to the public an interactive computer display and most importantly a chance for community members to meet and thank the dispatchers.
'It was very nice' said Carol Huff who has worked as a dispatcher for 22 years. 'We had a lot of officers who used to work here. We had several government officials come by and lots of citizens from the city who are interested in what we do.'
For experienced dispatchers like Huff having a face to go with the shaky voice on the phone is a rarity. Sometimes Caron said expressions of gratitude to the dispatchers can be just as rare.
'It''s very unusual for someone to dial the police department and say ''Hey I just wanted to call and thank you that you''re there at 4 a.m. when I need you,''' Caron said. 'That doesn''t happen very often and so it''s nice when we can set aside a day and thank our dispatchers and recognize them for the work they do.'
Springville''s first 24-hour dispatch service began in 1964 when rookie police officers answered the phones as part of their training. Civilians eventually took over first as part-time employees and years later as full-time employees.
'There is a dispatcher here 24 hours a day 7 days a week,' Caron said. 'We are always open. Whether it''s because your neighbor''s dog is barking and keeping you up all night or you have a sick child or there''s been an accident or your house has been broken into there is someone here to talk to.'
For example Caron knew of one elderly widow who used to call in the middle of the night just to make sure that her clocks were right.
'Those sorts of things go pretty much unnoticed,' he said 'and we don''t make a big deal out of them. But for that elderly woman having someone to talk to was important at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning. She knew that if she needed someone to come to her house to protect her she had somebody she could talk to and somebody would come. And that''s one of the jobs that we do.'
THE EARLY DAYS:
In its earliest days, Springville''s town marshall was summoned on foot or on horseback. When telephones and automobiles entered police service, members of the community would dial an operator, who would flip a switch, lighting a signal lamp posted on a downtown pole. Officers on patrol would see the light and call in to see where they were needed.
In-car radios replaced the light poles in the 1950s. The Utah Highway Patrol provided all of Utah County with emergency dispatch services. Then in 1964, the Springville Police and Fire Departments took over, providing around the clock services from their current location, which was considered 'fully equipped' with radios and telephones.
In the 1970s, civilians were hired part-time to replace the officers and double as building custodians. In the 1980s, the dispatchers were hired full-time. New computers tied the police department to state and federal databases, and multiple telephone lines were fed into the building.
Today, the Springville Department of Public Safety uses state-of-the-art equipment. Its emergency medical dispatchers continue to help save lives in the community after 40 years of service.