INDIANAPOLIS — Police officers, fire departments, and emergency medical services may be the most visible first responders, but that response begins with a 911 call. Marion County needs more people to answer those phones.
The Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency currently employs 139 dispatchers, according to chief Tom Sellas, but he considers the agency short-staffed.
Sellas hopes to hire at least 15 more dispatchers to spread the responsibility at the county's emergency call center.
"We will average usually 100 calls an hour," Sellas said. "When you have call after call after call where someone is needing help and they're very emotional, it wears on you as a human being."
The agency reports it received nearly a million 911 calls in all of 2023 and has received more than half a million 911 calls so far this year.
MESA currently takes an average of 22 seconds to answer a 911 call.
Capt. Eric Banister of the Wayne Township Fire Department hopes more people sign up for the job because of how crucial dispatchers are for firefighters.
"It is definitely as much of a first responder position as those of us out there quote-unquote first responding," Banister said. "Nothing happens until they call us. We don't drive around looking for things, they tell us to go get them."
The job listing for 911 telecommunicators at MESA is at this link. Starting pay is listed at $52,000 a year and you can apply if you are over 18-years-old.
Sellas knows the job is not for everybody, but hopes people who are ready for the responsibility do not hesitate to apply.
"We all don't have emergencies on a daily basis, but when we do have an emergency, it's very personal to us," Sellas said.
