The Trauma You Face as a 911 Operator #shorts

A thankless job, dealing with murders, suicides and bomb threats. This 911 operator of four years describes the daily, grinding reality of hearing these horrors - all for low pay and little benefit.

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[redtape]

999 operator - you NEVER forget the sounds of someone finding their own child dead. But someone has to be there to take that call

[kristahathaway]

You guys are the soul of the police force. You guys are the ones that care more. They have to listen to the terrifying people. That call you and I just want to. Thank you for being a 911 operator. And getting us help when we need it

[donderstorm]

karens calling 911 over the smallest things should see this. there's not an infinite number of operators. someone in real danger could be waiting on hold..

[wehrmeister]

Been a dispatcher (I take the calls and dispatch PD/FD/EMS) for 30 years now, he's not lying. He sounds like he may have worked for Houston, where I worked 15 years before leaving. Many people don't realize the amount of training required to train a 911 operator, it can take around six months with someone with no previous experience, before they are turned loose to take calls on their own. Many will quit well before then, realizing they don't have the skills needed for this work, contrary to popular public beliefs that they have for 911. And it's getting harder and harder to find qualified applicants, we have to pass a background equivalent to a police officer in terms of credit history, criminaL background, psychological evaluation.

I've got two years left before I'm done, and hang up the headset. The last couple of years have been the worst, as COVID did some serious mental damage to people in the US. I shudder to think of the future of 911. As he pointed out, the domino effect of burning out operators due to being shortstaffed, will continue until there are no more dominos to knock down.

[debbiewilliams]

This is terrible everyone needs a break no matter what you do. I’m sorry these guys are under so much stress on their job, l can only imagine how much stress a person is under answering Emergency calls all day long and trying to keep a person calm in a bad situation. Those people need help.

[kaboomkelly]

I lasted about 2 years as 911 dispatcher before I had to gtfo. Not only is the job traumatizing, but there’s very little support and time-off to recover due to understaffing. Once I worked 17 consecutive days, most of them 12 hour shifts, and everyone just kind of knows you’re not operating at full capacity but no one else is either. You just keep pushing. It’s not at all a sustainable career if you value your health.

[harperwebster]

My sister was a dispatcher for ten years she still has nightmares after 28 yrs!

[i.h.sketchyart]

perhaps 911 operators should start hiring ppl with felonies on their record.

[peacefortherebel]

Maybe this is the one thing AI can help with

[alexandrabug]

Remember this is why you don't do prank calls to 911.

[pinkakagreen]

Wow. I never realized this. My heart goes out to the true first responders. 😢😢😢😢

[dmugsthecool]

They dont pay you enough. I'd try it out for a bit, but pay isn't an incentive.

[cbearbear]

Try being a Nurse. Totally get this 😢

[danteabitong]

Lol in that one scene that person was floating around like a fat bubble lmao

[ThaKandyLady]

I was hung up on and told "good luck with that" a couple months back.

[lascrucesnm]

my best friends little sister used to do all the transcribing for police reports and she got very sick and left the job after a year!

[michaelhellwarth]

I saw a lady call 911 from a Burger King because she thought they shorted her $.54 change. The cop comes in and asks what the problem is all nice. They took out the receipt and the $25 she paid and her math was wrong! That nice cop turned into a beast yelling, “we are in Philadelphia, people dying and I’m here counting change for some idiot that can’t do math!” Then he just splits. I go to the BK all the time so I asked them a month later what happened? The woman at the counter called me that the customer filed a complaint against the police officer! she had to go to court and face the cop and she wind up getting almost $200 in fines for calling 911, and acting like jerk in public 😂

[traceyandgbabiessigning]

I completely understand how that would traumatize you all. You have my prayers, because the job that you do is truly truly necessary and needed and even that probably stresses you guys out more to know that lives are on the line sometimes, so I pray in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Ghost, that you all get an extra portion of God‘s blessing to help you guys and the emergency workers, the police and the firemen to get to people to save lives. It is an honorable job, and you all deserve all the recognition all the medical and psychological help that you can get so again I pray you guys, in the name of Jesus, be well and try to do happy positive things when you’re not at the job❤

[mofo]

In other words, you’re in charge of your own safety

[macngeeseyt]

I have a theory that ted bundy's time as an operator on a suicide line was a factor in his crime spree.