Typing three digits will bring help in the Mat-Su Valley

911 - what is your emergency? These familiar words are usually the calm within the storm, dispensed in the Valley by a small band of dispatchers seated in a softly-lit room filled with computer screens and telephone switchboards.

These dispatchers are the backbone of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Emergency Dispatch Center (EDC) in Palmer. From their station at the Palmer Police Department, they dispatch 22 emergency service providers including fire, ambulance and police, on 11 channels. The service area covers approximately 25,232 square miles from Mile 202 Parks highway to Mile 140 Glenn Highway, with a population exceeding 50,000 no easy feat for a crew of two or three dispatchers a shift.

All emergency calls are received at the EDC, although the Alaska State Troopers have a separate dispatch center. Calls determined to be outside the city of Palmer or Wasilla are rerouted to the trooper dispatch after it has been determined if fire or medical services are needed. If necessary, the dispatcher notifies the appropriate fire or medical personnel while the trooper dispatcher sends out troopers.

It is an organized, efficient, albeit complicated, system.

In the early days, the dispatchers job was somewhat different, according to dispatch supervisor Christine Fritz.

Fritz began working in Palmer as a dispatcher in 1973. She was one of only three dispatchers and the only one working the then-new graveyard position.

At that time, the dispatch center was located in the basement of city hall, Fritz said. There were two ambulances, based in Palmer and Wasilla, and three fire departments, located in the Butte, Palmer and Wasilla.

Fire emergencies were handled by making conference calls to members of the fire department they had only one opportunity to offer any necessary information, Fritz said.

If there was no fire, or it was out, they had to find out when they got there, Fritz said.

A siren, atop the building, was activated to notify anyone who could not be reached by phone. Fritz said the button to activate the siren was in right next to the button they used to release the door, and sometimes they would hit the wrong one.

There was no way to turn it off, so we just had to let it play out, she said.

Another duty Fritz recalls from the old days was booking prisoners and keeping an eye on them.

We had two holding cells and a bullpen. If someone was arrested we would fingerprint them and do their mugshots as well. If they were belligerent, we just entered them as a John Doe and put them in the cell. Eventually, usually when they sobered up, theyd cooperate.

It was a process that continued until after the dispatch center moved to the new building, located on Dogwood Street, and Mat-Su Pre-Trial was built, in the 1980s, Fritz said.

The EDC has come a long way from the old days. Now, a high-tech system routed through Matanuska Telephone allows dispatchers to instantly view the address, and any previous calls made from a phone number when a 911 call comes in. Emergency personnel can be notified and kept in contact in a matter of seconds. In the case of 911 disconnects, the dispatcher can see if there has been a history of domestic violence calls made from that number, Fritz said.

The only downfall to this system is when current street addresses are not listed with MTA. The dispatchers must then rifle through various maps to determine locations. Precious moments can be lost.

A computer system permits the dispatchers to look up the criminal history, traffic violations and drivers license status of individuals at an officers request.

As can be expected, the dispatchers shift has crests and lulls. During the quiet moments they share pleasantries or catch up on the mounds of paperwork involved in their job until the phone rings, when pleasantries are pushed aside for serious interaction.

During a call, a dispatcher may be talking to a stressed caller, notifying emergency personnel, talking to a police officer and filling out interminable paperwork all at the same time.

When two or three calls come in at once the dispatchers work as a team. One may be finding maps for emergency personnel and running printouts for an officer, while another is dispensing information over the radio and the third offers a calm voice to a terrified person on the other end of the line. When it rains, it pours.

Stella Wiggins, a 5-year veteran of the Mat-Su EDC, said it takes time to really feel the confidence to handle any call. Working together as a team is crucial, she said.

Its a partnership . . . you never know what will happen.

When asked if she had any particularly memorable calls, Fritz said no doubt there were many, but offhand she could only think of one.

A few years ago I had a report of a gunshot victim in Big Lake, she said. I asked the usual questions, where was he shot, was he breathing, and so on. Then I asked the caller were the assailant was and he said, youre talking to him. I said, I beg your pardon? And he said, yea, I shot him. He didnt say anything until I specifically asked. It just kind of surprised me a little.

Extremely unusual calls, however, end up on the wall of fame in the dispatch center. Many of them are used for training tapes, Fritz said. New dispatchers must pass a thorough application process before entering approximately 11 weeks of training.

Training includes the proper use of a medical guide, learning dispatch codes and hours of hands-on work with an experienced dispatcher.

The ability to hear from each ear independently is also a must, since each dispatcher hears calls from an earphone while listening to each other, officers on the radio, and occasionally monitoring the troopers radio or an officer booking a drunken driver in another room. And the paperwork!

Fritz said when calling 911 people are usually unaware that dispatchers are often talking to police or emergency personnel at the same time. It is important for callers to give precise information and to stay on the line.

The one thing that is traumatic, for me, is to have a call that I cant get directions to. If I cant get people the help they need, its very stressful, Fritz said.

April 11 through April 17 is National Dispatchers Week.