911 dispatchers tough to hire and retain

If you call 911 in the near future, be prepared to spend some time on hold, depending on where you live.

It’s due to a continuing shortage of dispatchers at most area agencies.

The training to become a public safety dispatcher is extensive and rigorous.

However, the toughest part of this job is likely what cannot be taught… multi-tasking, evolving technology, life and death situations, and doing it all with compassion for those on the other end of the phone and radio.

“They really truly want to help people day in and day out, from the smallest question to the biggest emergency,” says El Paso County Dispatch Supervisor Dan Ausec.

Ausec admits not everyone is cut out for it.

There is room for a staff of 52 at the county’s communications center, but until everyone is trained, they are down eight.

Dispatchers at the Colorado Springs communication center handle even more calls, about 600,000 a year for both police and fire.

It’s a similar story, with 20 of the roughly 100 positions empty because many dispatchers are unable to handle the stress and move on.

Sadly, losing dispatchers only adds more stress, because the ones that remain often have to work longer hours.

El Paso County Dispatch Training Supervisor Marika Somersalmi says it’s a problem that plagues nearly every agency in the region.

“Any time you talk to someone with another agency, we’re all dealing with the same problem,” she said.

Somersalmi says El Paso County dispatchers try to answer every call within three rings. The sheriff’s office says it never puts emergency calls on hold.

El Paso County has revamped its training program in the last year and a half to try and address the burnout, but it continues to be a struggle.

If you’re interested in applying to be a dispatcher for the City of Colorado Springs, click here.