What advice does one of Ohio County’s public health officials have for those who are considering submitting an application for a 911 dispatcher’s position?
“I would tell them that it is a very rewarding job, but I would also tell them that it’s not a job for everyone,” said Lou Vargo, director of the Wheeling-Ohio County Emergency. “It’s a tough job and there are plenty of tears involved. People do not call the 911 Center when they’re having a good day. No one calls 911 when they are enjoying a cocktail on the back porch. People do call 911 when something is very wrong.
“Our dispatchers do their very best to be that calming voice on the other end of the phone, so that’s something else I would tell anyone who is thinking of submitting their resume,” he said. “There are interviews and background checks involved, as well, because of the kind of information the dispatchers handle on a daily basis.”
The Ohio County 911 Call Center will see two employees retire in the coming months so the agency is currently looking to hire those replacements in the near future. The 911 Call Center is located in the basement of the Ohio County Courthouse.
“That’s why we need to hire people now so they can get trained in time for when those retirements become official. A person just can’t sit down behind a dispatcher’s console and start doing the job,” Vargo explained. “There is a lot that goes into the job and it takes a good two, three months to be able to dispatch by yourself.
“Dispatchers answer life-and-death calls so they have to know exactly what they are doing,” he said. “Plus, when you sit down in front of that microphone, you might not be comfortable so that’s another thing an individual has to get used to. They have to learn how to speak with the people who are calling in, and how to instruct our first responders in the field.”
Position Description
The day shift is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the night shift is 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. The position includes full benefits and compensation depends on an individual’s level of experience.
The dispatchers are stationed behind an intricate console that includes several computers and multiple screens, and incoming calls are answered using headsets. The first responders are often busy because the Wheeling police and fire departments are sent to emergency situations thousands of times per year.
“One thing our residents need to know is that our 911 Center is functioning at 100 percent right now so people should not worry about that. We’re having this conversation right now because we see the need we will have in just a few months from now,” Vargo said. “Our director, Theresa Russell, has been working some shifts, too, so we are at 100 percent, but we have to start looking for new dispatchers now so they can begin the training process.
“The schedule is a mixture of day and night shifts, and the dispatchers alternate between those two. Plus, they get days off in between so they can acclimate well to the new shift,” he explained. “They need those days away to get prepared for when they return to work. The dispatchers are the first line of public safety and that’s why, in the state of West Virginia, they have been officially designated first responders.”
