The job of a dispatcher is difficult, but Emergency Communications Director, Sarah Peffly, says she wouldn’t want to do anything else; but, it didn’t start out that way:
She started in Osage County in 1998, worked there for a few months then moved to Ottawa. As director, she oversees 10 dispatchers that handle all emergent and non-emergent calls, as well as all radio traffic for law enforcement, fire EMS, and emergency management, with tow on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Dispatch Center answers about 60,000 phone calls and dispatcher help to over 40,000 requests for service per year. That number does not include the number of radio transmissions that dispatchers are also fielding on a 24/7 basis.
