On hand to accept the award on behalf of both second and third shifts were, from left to right: Second Shift Supervisor Jimmy Hillis, Third Shift Supervisor Katherine Roundtree and Operations Director Jeff Carney
At the annual Tennessee Emergency Numbers Association conference in Murphreesboro, Tn. this week, telecommunicators with the Hamilton County 911 Emergency Communications District were awarded the “Dispatch Event of the Year” for the second and third shift teams.
Officials said, "The event occurred on May 28 when reports of multiple people being shot in downtown Chattanooga started flooding into the 911 Center. The radio traffic that ensued consisted of requests for medical assistance for found victims, two separate foot pursuits, coordination efforts between all agencies and detaining multiple suspects.
"The flood of calls and radio traffic started right as the telecommunicator’s midnight shift arrived for duty. However, telecommunicators from the previous shift remained in place to continue helping with this incident."
“This is the truest definition of teamwork and serving our community,” said Shift Supervisor Kathrine Rountree, “and it was performed without reservation by our entire team.”
In addition to handling the 911 calls, the telecommunicators coordinated the radio traffic for the following agencies: Chattanooga Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Red Bank Police Department, Signal Mountain Police Department, Hamilton County EMS, Chattanooga Fire Department, Lookout Mountain Police Department, Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue, the FBI and the Incident Dispatch Unit.
“It is a rare thing to see a group of people work together in such a fluid motion, especially when chaos is trying to overwhelm them,” said Ms. Roundtree. “Yet this is always when I see the absolute best out of our crew."