Putnam County Dispatchers answering emergency calls 99.7 percent faster than the national average.
Assistant 911 Director Josh Womack told the Emergency Communications Board at its Thursday meeting that the national standard is 10 seconds. Putnam County dispatchers answer calls in 3.1 seconds. The department has maintained that average across the 44,000 calls it answered since January.
“And that is because of our great dispatchers,” Womack said. “They do a great job answering the phone as soon as it comes in without delay, getting help on the way. So I just wanted to let you guys know that we are doing a great job, exceeding the national average.”
Director Penny Foister said the department recently was approved to get two new full-time dispatchers and is currently training two people in part-time before they transition to full-time. She said they rarely hire someone full-time immediately, as they want to make sure they have the proper training, and the job is something they want to do.
“One of the things when we’ve got someone in there training, it’s terribly hard for them to get training on the phones,” Foister said. “Because if it rings twice someone else has already grabbed it. So we tell them, if you want experience answering that phone, you’ve got to get in there.”
Foister said they are also looking to fill Josh Womack’s full-time position, as he was recently named the Assistant Director following Brandon Smith’s move to EMA.
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