|
|
2010 Telecommunicator of the Year Honorees:
______________________________________________________________________________
Matt Cline
Dispatcher, Greater Harris County – Houston
| “For exceptional
handling of a 9-1-1 call while working as a Dispatcher for
the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department, the Commission on
State Emergency Communications does hereby recognize Matt
Cline as a 2010 Telecommunicator of the Year winner.
Matt distinguished himself as the consummate professional while handling a call
on Christmas Eve of 2009.
At
approximately 4:15 AM, Matt took a call from an extremely distraught female
reporting
someone had set fire to her home. |
 |
Using
calming techniques and persistence, Matt got the caller to
provide address information and was able to gather that in
addition to the fire, the caller and another female in the
home were victims of violence, and the assailant was still
nearby. As if that wasn’t enough, Matt discovered 2 children
were also in the burning home. |
Matt’s
personal investment and loyalty to duty reflected greatly upon
him and in keeping with
the traditions of quality
9-1-1 service in Texas.
Call taker Cline’s ability to multi-task
effectively allowed for a successful resolution to this emergency.
____________________________________________________________
Mary Edge
Communications Officer, Greater Harris County – Houston
“For outstanding
service, while working for the Harris County Sheriff’s
Office, the Commission on State Emergency Communications
does hereby recognize Communications Officer Mary Edge as
a 2010 Telecommunicator of the Year winner.
Mary handled a wireless 9-1-1 call on April 17, 2010 in
which a terrified woman had apparently called 9-1-1 for help,
however was unable to talk freely on the phone. Mary could
hear the frightened woman being abused verbally and physically
by an unknown male assailant.
|
 |
Communications
Officer Edge knew that time was of utmost importance and immediately
began “rebidding” to update the cell
phone’s location. The assault continued for over 15 minutes
while Mary continued to track the signal from the cell phone.
Even though Mary did not have a description of the vehicle, she
managed to direct the responding units to the general area where
they eventually located the vehicle.
As a direct result of Mary’s calm
demeanor and professionalism, she was able to get assistance
to this female caller and surely
saved her from further serious injuries or possibly even death.
____________________________________________________________ |
Aliana Hernandez
Telecommunicator, Greater Harris County – Houston
Emergency Center
“For exceptional handling
of a 9-1-1 call while working as a Telecommunicator for the
Houston Emergency Center, the Commission on State Emergency
Communications does hereby recognize Aliana Hernandez as a
2010 Telecommunicator of the Year winner.
On March 7, 2010, Aliana
Hernandez called back a previously challenged, yet disconnected,
silent call. This time a woman answered. After asking the woman
if she had an emergency, the woman responded by saying, “No.
I need a taxi.” Aliana began to transfer the woman to
the non-emergency line. However, she had second thoughts and
again stated 9-1-1 was for emergencies only. This time the
woman said, “Yes. I need one.”
|
 |
Telecommunicator
Hernandez realized something was wrong. The woman then told Aliana
in
a very hushed voice that she was in
trouble and needed police assistance. Aliana indicated to the
woman that she understood and responded to her that she would
send a taxi in the event that the person the woman was afraid
of was listening. Aliana obtained contact and address information
while listening to the woman tell a man that she was getting
a taxi. Aliana assured the woman that police units were being
dispatched under the guise of sending a “taxi”. More
alarmingly, when asked what type of problem the caller was reporting,
the woman spelled out the word “rape”.
Aliana distinguished herself as the consummate professional
and through perseverance and creativity, was able to provide
the woman with the help she so desperately needed. |
|
|
|
