Sacramento dispatchers brace for uptick in calls for July 4th holiday
Emergency dispatchers are bracing for the Fourth of July holiday, often the busiest time of the year.
When a 911 fire, medical aid, or rescue call comes in, dispatchers like Nolan Saulter are there to answer.
"As soon as the sun goes down until about 1 a.m., it's wall-to-wall busy," Saulter said.
The Sacramento Regional Fire and EMS Communications Center takes calls for all of Sacramento County and dispatches fire engines for 10 different departments.
"We are the first, first responders. You pick up that phone and we're the first one you're going to talk to when it comes to the medical or fire aspects," Saulter said.
Their goal is to answer each emergency call within four rings. But on busy days like the Fourth of July, the volume of calls doubles.
"If someone's house catches fire, we are maybe going to get 20 calls on that," Saulter said.
Dispatchers are also trained to coach 911 callers on providing medical aid as firefighters rush to the scene.
"We will give you instructions on how to do CPR. If your vehicle goes into floodwaters, we walk you through how to get out of your car, if you find someone drowning in a pool, we tell you how to safely get them out and how to save their life," Saulter said.
The dispatch center's wall has a "tree of life" with each leaf signifying a person whom they helped save.
"They're able to live the rest of their lives," Saulter said.
And the butterflies represent babies they helped deliver over the phone they've had two born in just the last two days.
"I have to tell you it's the greatest feeling in the world, I got choked up," Saulter said.
Extra help will be on hand for this Fourth of July weekend and Saulter said they're ready to help out with any emergencies.
"We've got all hands on deck and we just do what we've got to do," Saulter said.
The dispatch center is also hiring with no emergency experience needed. Saulter said before he began helping save lives over the phone, he worked in a bank.