BY KARISSA MILLER
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to make the month of April National 9-1-1 month and April 9-15 National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Iredell County to recognize employees’ valuable role in keeping the community safe.
Paula Price, a telecommunicator II with ECOM, spoke about all of the accomplishments Emergency Communications has seen in the past year.
“ECOM has had an amazing year,” Price said.
She started by stating that the board recently reclassified ECOM employees from office administrative support to “protective service occupants.”
Emergency Communications had approximately 821 visitors, which included all of the fourth-grade students in Iredell County, Price said.
They spoke to around 900 citizens face-to-face at events.
The department has added two administrative positions and launched the pulse point App for citizens to get direct information on emergency calls.
“Iredell County has had some tragedy in 2022,” she said. “We’ve had some really bad calls and several certain heartbreaking calls that will take us a while to get over.”
She said that like law enforcement, EMS and other public safety professions that they are mentally exhausting careers, but they know that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
ECOM ANSWERS THE CALL
Service calls in 2022:
• 187,317 law calls for service,
• 39,063 calls for EMS,
• 24,774 fire calls for service
• 9,826 animal control calls
• 8,633 rescue calls for service
Total: 269,613 calls for service in one year
ECOM also handled 229,292 non-emergency calls,
Price ended by thanking the board for their support and for “always having their back.”
Commissioner Gene Houpe told Price that she is appreciated and thanked her for all that she does.
“I’m very thankful that someone is there,” said commissioner Brad Stroud. “You are the first line at that.”
Chair Melissa Neader also expressed her appreciation for their hard work. She then read the National Public Safety Telecommunications Week Resolution into the Minutes.
The resolution states, that “Whereas public safety telecommunicators are first, first responders and most critical contact for citizens with emergency services and they are a vital link for police officers, rescue and firefighters by coordinating their dispatch, monitoring their activities by radio, providing them information and ensuring their safety.”
Neader then read the proclamation into the minutes declaring April as 9-1-1 month. It states that 9-1-1 is nationally recognized as the number to call in an emergency to receive immediate help from police, fire, EMS or other appropriate emergency response entities.
It states that the education month could include public awareness events, including conferences and media outreach, training activities for parents, teachers, school administrators, other care givers and businesses.