Brentwood Celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

The City of Brentwood and the state of Tennessee are celebrating this week as it is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The week, sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and celebrated annually, honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the world’s citizens. Recent events surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic have highlighted the work of telecommunications professionals at the Brentwood Police Department and around the country.

During this week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board (TECB) honor the men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to Tennessee citizens. You can meet some of the Tennessee public safety telecommunicators in this video who are on the front lines of public safety in Williamson County, as this video was filmed in the 911 center.

One of Brentwood’s former telecommunicators, Andrew Patton, was featured in another video documentary, produced by his son in 2021. “People usually don’t call 911 when they are having a good day,” Andrew Patton said in the video. Jackie Jackson, who has been a public safety dispatcher with the City of Brentwood for 24 years said, “the first thing that goes through your mind is, it could be someone calling as they are disabled, a car wreck, a stabbing or armed robbery. You just never know.” Brentwood Emergency Communications Supervisor, Kathleen Watkins, highlights the importance of following a dispatcher’s instructions. “The quicker you answer questions being asked, the quicker help will arrive,” Watkins said. “Dispatchers are trained to ask very direct questions, in return of hoping to get very direct answers back from the caller,” Watkins added.

Brentwood Police Chief Richard Hickey recalls the late 90s gameshow, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, where if contestants didn’t have the answer, they could use a lifeline and call for help. “We have been using a lifeline for years and they are called dispatchers. When the police need help, they call a dispatcher. When citizens need help, they call a dispatcher. They are truly the first responders, and we could not do our job without them. They are our lifelines,” Chief Hickey said.

Since 1987, Brentwood’s 911 dispatchers have worked in a windowless office at Brentwood’s City Hall building located at 5211 Maryland Way. Sometime later this year, they will be relocated to the Brentwood Police Headquarters building on Heritage Way. Watkins is excited about the move for many reasons. “The space will include state of the art equipment and technology, will be centrally located within the police department which will allow for collaboration during major events and a wall full of windows to help provide for a better level of mental health,” Watkins said.

You can learn more about the Brentwood Emergency Communications Center online or through the documentary on the City’s YouTube channel.