Though Emergency Dispatchers are trained and uniquely qualified to handle emergencies daily, it’s a rare challenge to be the calm at the console while in the heart of a widespread disaster. The influx of frantic calls can intimidate a seasoned veteran. Yet, providing emergency care and reassurance to those in need is essential, even while sorting through the confusion of a sudden event.
During these times, communication centers must work under unusual circumstances, using inventive methods to access resources when typical lines are unavailable or overwhelmed. Sending responders into a disaster is a difficult balancing act of weighing need and safety. Often the concerns of home create greater intensity, and the built-up exhaustion of long shifts and sleep rotations can be overwhelming with prolonged exposure to the panicked public.
How is it possible to meet the unpredicted needs of an entire community? The following three centers have demonstrated how teamwork, preparation, and innovation can carry a committed team through such events.
Event/Disaster Type: Tornado
Event Date: March 31, 2023
Affected Communication Center: Little Rock Emergency Communications Center, Little Rock, Arkansas (USA)
Shift Supervisor Dalton Hill was working on the secondary police channel when he received word of a tornado warning from the Arkansas Department
of Emergency Management over the main mutual aid channel. With warning sirens blaring, Hill heard a police officer located at Baptist Health, just off Interstate 630, reporting that he could see a debris cloud forming over Shackleford Road.
“We had no time to prepare at that point,” Hill said. “The tornado had already touched down and was actively destroying everything in its path.”
The National Weather Service (NWS) rated the twister as an EF3 with peak winds breaking 165 mph, spanning a nightmare trail of 34 miles from Pulaski to Lonoke County. This was the first tornado the city of Little Rock had seen with such force in 24 years.1
The communication center was spared from damage as the tornado wreaked havoc approximately five miles away. Fortunately, the center had electricity and could communicate over the radio with police and fire units while still manning the spike in emergency calls.
Panic was felt in the air and on the phone lines. The tornado touched down at 2:18 p.m., and call volumes visually displayed the result as its devastation whipped through the community.
2:00-2:15 p.m.: 19 calls
2:15-2:30 p.m.: 102 calls
2:30-2:45 p.m.: 304 calls
2:45-3:00 p.m.: 134 calls
Reports of egg-sized hail, super cells, and similar force tornadoes continued into the following day, spinning onward into surrounding states. The NWS reported the widespread severe weather outbreak broke records, hailing the Top 5 list for the number of tornadoes produced in a 24-hour period with at least 132.2
Little Rock Emergency Dispatchers handled reports of fallen trees crashing through houses, trapped residents struggling beneath caving roofs, and broken gas lines endangering occupants. Responders attempted to reach structure collapses, overturned vehicles, and lower-acuity complaints like broken bones and injuries.
The tornado’s effect on mortality was gratefully low. More than 50 people were injured and admitted to hospitals, but, miraculously, there were no fatalities within the city of Little Rock.3 The NWS reported 2,700 structures were impacted—including Fire Station 09 and several apartment complexes—and 10,000 trees were uprooted by the violent weather.4 
Emergency Dispatchers provided a source of calm in the storm. Like many, the Little Rock Communications Center was suffering from staffing issues at the time of the tornado and subsequent storms. Emergency Communications Trainer Charles Lay reported that several employees came to the 911 center without being called, willing to assist with the influx of calls.
“Even if we had every seat filled, we still could not have answered every single call that came in during the tornado,” Hill said. At least one Emergency Dispatcher’s house was damaged in the aftermath.
For five days after the tornado, the Little Rock Communications Center manned a dedicated channel utilized by responding resources to address gas leaks, energy outages, and residents in need of shelter. Emergency Dispatchers communicated with utility companies via email to keep the phone lines open for those requesting emergency services. They also coordinated with the city’s Emergency Management and FEMA resources to provide the public with basic needs such as food and water.
“Emergency Dispatchers served as the knot that tied public works, fire, police, and sanitation all together,” Lay said. The emergency call volume stayed elevated for a few weeks after the event. The city developed an initiative where Little Rock employees could have paid time off to assist with relief efforts related to the devastating tornado.
Both innovation and reflection occur in the heart of handling natural disasters. Looking forward, Lay said the Little Rock Communications Center plans to develop Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforces (TERT) to deploy in the event of a longer incident. He also plans to train Emergency Dispatchers in tactical dispatching to better understand collaborative requirements of Incident Control Systems (ICS), the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and Unified Command (UC).
Event/Disaster Type: Hurricane Ian
Event Date: Sept. 28, 2022
Affected Communication Center: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue
In Hillsborough, Florida (USA), a hurricane is not a case of “if,” but “when,” and usually “Here we go.” Emergency Dispatch Communications Manager Margaret Hamrick, Senior Program Coordinator Hattie Strickland, and Emergency Management Operations Section Chief Katja Miller shared their
perspectives on how their center responded to Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28, 2022.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Ian began as a tropical disturbance east of the Windward Islands and was later upgraded to a tropical depression over the central Caribbean Sea. Tropical Storm Ian formed on Sept. 23, and Hurricane-force Ian struck western Cuba on Sept. 27 with 125 mph winds. Its second landfall was just south of Punta Gorda, Florida, on Sept. 28 with 155 mph winds. The storm surge struck the west coast of Florida south of Tampa, with over 20 inches of rain.5
“Our dispatch center is very well versed in hurricane activations,” Hamrick said. They have supervisor meetings at the beginning of each hurricane season to discuss each employee’s role; sleeping arrangements; and safe shelter for staff, family, and pets; among other details.
In preparation for Hurricane Ian, the Office of Emergency Management held daily conference calls to communicate information, discuss a plan of action, express needs, and assign roles during the activation.
They ordered a mandatory evacuation of two zones in the county, including four hospitals, four nursing homes, and 18 assisted-living facilities. Fifty shelters were opened to take in 8,161 people and 490 pets. To avoid flooding, 91,363 sandbags were distributed.
With people evacuated, warnings in place, and plans in action, emergency services were prepared. But as Mother Nature began raging, the public felt a bit more of the panic, evidenced by the phone lines ringing as the storm neared Tampa. During the height of the storm, call volumes climbed to 180% higher than an average blue-sky day.
The highest response need was dealing with electrical hazards (220), followed by shelter/standby situations (50), varying medical calls (17), trees on houses (12), structure fires—a result of downed powerlines (6), roofs blown from houses (3), structure collapses with people trapped (2), and a sinking vehicle, etc.
Emergency Dispatchers handling the sudden increase in call volume used defined policies and updates on wind speeds to determine whether it was safe to send responders out into the storm. One Emergency Dispatcher had to inform a caller reporting severe breathing problems that no response could be sent due to the storm’s intensity in that area.
A long while later, a second call came in for the same struggling patient. The Emergency Dispatcher reached out to the battalion chief to see if the weather’s fluctuation could then allow a response. Fortunately, crews were able to transport the patient to the hospital and return to their station prior to higher gusts tearing through the area.
“This personal act demonstrates the dedication of one Emergency Dispatcher going above and beyond to help one 911 caller,” Hamrick said.
Of course, this commitment was evident in the entire communications staff. During Hurricane Ian, all four shifts were on the premises for 2 ½ days with Emergency Dispatchers working 12 hours at a time, maintaining their day or night schedules to avoid undue physical stress. Supervisors were assigned to complete Incident Command System (ICS) paperwork, ensure breaks, oversee the shift, and rotate sleeping quarters.
A consistent stressor for all the staff was the worry of their own loved ones weathering the storm at home or in shelters. To alleviate stress, Emergency Dispatchers were allowed frequent breaks to check in with their families. Thankfully, no Emergency Dispatchers’ homes were affected, aside from minor damage.
In the aftermath of Ian, 144 deaths were confirmed, with five in Hillsborough.6 The widespread debris of downed trees and minor flooding took about five months to clean up. The Office of Emergency Management worked with non-for-profits to address the community’s food insecurity needs and coordinated with the Disaster Recovery Center.
After the storm, the communication center conducted an “After Action” review to mark areas for improvement for the next event. Ian’s challenges spurred some innovation within the dispatch center.
For instance, as Emergency Dispatchers focused on processing a high influx of calls, they often forgot to add dispositions into calls prior to clearing them. The disposition would flag the call as either a “storm-related event” or “not a storm-related event.”
One employee discovered a helpful CAD function that displayed the marking easily, allowing Emergency Dispatchers to clear calls and reduce the number of search windows they needed to enter information. The communication center now uses this method with every event.
The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Emergency Dispatchers have learned to manage the storm through preparation and dedication. “Individual effort is something our department emphasizes on every 911 call, from beginning to end,” Hamrick said.
Event/Disaster Type: Power outage
Event Date: Dec. 3, 2022
Affected Communication Center: Moore County Public Safety, Carthage, North Carolina (USA)
The lights in Moore County, North Carolina (USA), started going out just after 7 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2022, and soon central and southern Moore County went dark too.7
Bryan Lyczkowski, former E911 Communications Chief with Moore County Public Safety, Carthage, North Carolina, was at home on a Saturday night when the calls started pouring into the Moore County Public Safety communication center.
“All of a sudden we started getting inundated with calls and it started becoming widespread,” he said.
About two-thirds of the county was affected by the power outage, totaling 45,000 customers8—the comm. center included. Lyczkowski said the transition to operate off their uninterruptible power supply from their generator happened seamlessly.
The shift lead supervisor enacted the emergency rule and sent out an SOS to all Emergency Dispatchers and those in administrative roles. Lyczkowski headed straight for the center to join the three Emergency Dispatchers on duty. Within an hour after sending out the SOS, 10 Emergency Dispatchers were on the floor.
“That is an incredible feat,” he said. “Everybody worked well together. We had to get the calls processed.”
More than 300 calls came into the Moore County center between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. that night. Emergency Dispatchers received reports of several traffic accidents that happened with the traffic signals out, while others called to inquire about the power outage. Moore County Public Safety took to social media to let the public know what was happening.
“We did our best with what we had to work with,” Lyczkowski said. “Social media was definitely our friend.”
While Moore County has preparations in place for weather events like ice storms and the occasional snowstorm, this event was of a different nature. The power outage wasn’t caused by a weather event or a traffic accident. People had opened fire on two power substations in the county.9
“You can’t be 100% prepared, but we have a lot of things in place [for weather events],” Lyczkowski said. “[But this is] something you don’t expect. You don’t expect sabotage.”
Duke Energy crews found damaged equipment in the substations.10 Some of the damaged equipment was repairable, and power was restored to about 7,000 customers just over 24 hours after the power went out. However, Duke Energy needed to get equipment to the county before the remainder of the power could be restored.
Power remained off for nearly a week for some residents. For those in need, the county set up an emergency shelter during the outage to help residents deal with cold temperatures.11
Even though some of the Moore County Public Safety comm. center employees were without power in their home for days, they chose to make the best of a tough situation rather than take shelter at the comm. center. Lyczkowski said they also worked with several assisted living centers to acquire generators for them.
While the comm. center has experienced power outages before, “It’s one of the longest” in recent memory.
No arrests have been made as of Dec. 4, 2023—one year after the outage.12 Not long after the outage, Duke Energy, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina Governor’s Office, and the FBI collectively offered a $100,000 reward looking for information leading up to an arrest.
Whether hunkering down during a natural disaster or facing the ramifications of an intentional attack, the committed action and stability of Emergency Dispatchers is essential to serve the whole community. The protocol, procedures, and preparation of these teams provide what they need to succeed through the unexpected, and each individual is a key influence in the process.
For hours, days, weeks, or even months after the event, Emergency Dispatchers often aid in providing resources for recovery efforts to meet the public’s ongoing needs through community outreach programs. These efforts go beyond taking emergency calls by providing true emergency care.
Sources
1. “NWS Little Rock, AR – Destructive Tornadoes on March 31, 2023.” National Weather Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.weather.gov/lzk/svr0323a.htm#:~:text=The20tornado20(rated20EF32F165,of20Cabot20(Lonoke20County (accessed Nov. 6, 2023).
2. See note 1.
3. See note 1.
4. See note 1.
5. “Hurricane Ian: September 30, 2022.” National Weather Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://www.weather.gov/ilm/hurricaneian (accessed Nov. 17, 2023).
6. Chesnes M. “Hurricane Ian deaths up to 144, 5 in Hillsborough.” News Service of Florida. Tampa Bay Times. 2022; Dec. 9. https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2022/12/09/hurricane-ian-deaths-up-144-5-hillsborough/ (accessed Nov. 17, 2023).
7. Quillin M, Kane D, Cain B. “Power substation attack leaves Moore County, NC in the dark. Here’s what we know.” The News & Observer. 2023; Dec 1. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article269579392.html (accessed March 14, 2024).
8. See note 1.
9. “Shootings at power substations cause North Carolina outages.” Associated Press. 2022; Dec 4. https://apnews.com/article/vandalism-north-carolina-power-outages-47614e4786ca0fb000be779d27f3995a (accessed March 14, 2024).
10. See note 1.
11. Brown B, Price J. “One month since Moore County attacks, residents still waiting for answers.” ABC 11 Eyewitness News. WTVD-TV. 2023; Jan 3. https://abc11.com/power-grid-sabotage-moore-county-power-substations-outage/12648630/ (accessed March 14, 2024).
12. Hoggard D. “1 year later, still no arrests in Moore County power-grid attack.” ABC 11 Eyewitness News. WTVD-TV. 2023; Dec. 4. https://abc11.com/moore-county-one-year-power-grid-substation-attack/14138102/ (accessed March 15, 2024).
