It is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, observed each year during the second full week of April, and the Bellingham Police Department and Whatcom County Sheriff's Office are publicly thanking the dispatchers who staff Whatcom County 911 and the Bellingham Fire Department communications center around the clock, every day of the year.
The week was established in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California. What started as a regional recognition effort has grown into a nationally observed tribute to the men and women who answer emergency calls and coordinate first responder deployments across the country. The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials now coordinates the annual recognition effort.
BPD Chief Rebecca Mertzig shared a public statement directed at Whatcom County 911 and BFD dispatchers: "Your calm professionalism, quick decision-making, and unwavering dedication form the backbone of public safety in Bellingham and throughout our region. You are the steady voices our community depends on during some of life's most difficult moments, and your work directly supports the safety and success of every officer in the field. Thank you for the critical role you play in keeping our community safe."
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office echoed the sentiment, calling dispatchers "the heroes you don't always see but always hear" and describing them as the "steady voice in every crisis and the calm in the storm." The Sheriff's Office noted that dispatchers serve as a lifeline for every emergency response, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The job of a public safety dispatcher is demanding in ways most people don't fully appreciate. Dispatchers handle multiple simultaneous radio channels, coordinate between law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services, manage call queues during high-volume incidents, and must make rapid decisions with incomplete information while keeping callers calm.
Whatcom County 911 serves as the primary public safety answering point for the county, routing calls and coordinating dispatch for BPD, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, and municipal departments across the county. The center operates continuously without holidays or closures.
More about the national observance is available through NPSTW.org, which coordinates recognition events and educational materials about the dispatcher profession.
If you are interested in a career in public safety communications, Whatcom County 911 periodically posts dispatcher openings through the Whatcom County website.