The City of Campbell River is celebrating April 10 to 16 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week by honouring 9-1-1 operators and dispatchers from police, fire and medical services for their commitment to public safety.

“Public Safety Telecommunicators play a vital role in public safety, serving as the “first” first responders. They are an indispensable part of our emergency services team,” says Assistant Chief Stephanie Bremer. “City of Campbell River Fire Department dispatchers are recognized for their expertise and professionalism, demonstrated through their service to 80 fire departments located here on the coast and in the Peace River region of the province.”

Campbell River provides fire dispatch services to eight regional districts (80 fire departments) under contract with the North Island 9-1-1 Corporation. The fire dispatch centre, located in the No. 1 Fire Hall downtown, handled more than 25,000 incidents last year. The centre is staffed 24 hours a day with two professional public safety telecommunicators, serving an estimated 310,000 residents living across more than 180,000 square kilometres from central to northern Vancouver Island, across Powell River and the Peace River Region.

“In Campbell River, the efforts of our dispatchers are complemented by a team of career and paid-on-call firefighters. Their dedication is a hallmark of our community’s commitment to public safety,” Bremer adds.

Every year, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International sponsors National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to honour the thousands of people who take calls and dispatch emergency professionals and equipment to people worldwide.

Accidental 9-1-1 calls and non-emergency calls to 9-1-1 divert resources from genuine emergencies and put people’s lives at risk. The Campbell River Fire Department extends a reminder about these guidelines to prevent accidental calls to 9-1-1:

• Don’t hang up when calling 9-1-1. If you called by mistake, let the operator know

• Protect your cell phone by locking and storing it carefully

• Don’t program 9-1-1 into any telephone

• Never give phones to children to play with
9-1-1 is for police, fire and medical emergencies only. Non-emergency calls should be directed to non-emergency phone numbers.

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Contact: Stephanie Bremer, Assistant Chief | 250-286-6266 |Stephanie.bremer@campbellriver.ca

Full news release.