# 911 dispatcher helps save life



## policelaborlaw.com (Mar 7, 2006)

911 dispatcher helps save life

Suicidal caller located in time
By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

UXBRIDGE— Kristen M. Vaidya took to heart one of the main lessons from all the training in suicide prevention she has taken over the years. 

“The one thing they always talk about in training — that if somebody talks about it, or calls somebody, they didn’t want to do it,” Ms. Vaidya said. 

So when Ms. Vaidya was on duty as a part-time dispatcher recently in Uxbridge and received a 911 call, that lesson — combined with the knowledge she has from her other job, her instincts, a lot of detective work and a bit of luck — helped her save the life of a woman in Quincy.

Ms. Vaidya also works as a 911 trainer for the Statewide Emergency Telecommunications Board. 

“It’s kind of funny, I work and train others as dispatchers,” Ms. Vaidya said. “I think I used all my training on this 911 call.” 

The emergency began with a 911 call that came in about 3 p.m. that Sunday from an Uxbridge couple who have a religious hot line phone number. The couple called 911 when the message on their answering machine appeared to be from someone who appeared to be suicidal, according to police. 

The person left no name, address or phone number, and no other information on the hot line. The couple who called 911 were able to provide Ms. Vaidya with the unidentified caller’s phone number, because they had caller ID. 

“She reached out to somebody, and I felt obligated,” Ms. Vaidya said. 

The number had a 617 area code, so Ms. Vaidya knew it had to have some connection to Massachusetts. 

Ms. Vaidya said her first instinct was to get a name to go with that phone number. 

“It was a starting basis. I thought maybe we could trace it,” she remembered. After Ms. Vaidya called for a trace of the number, she learned from Verizon security that it was not a land line, but a cell phone line. She immediately placed a call to the cell phone company service that police departments subscribe to for information in an emergency situation. Ms. Vaidya learned that the number was registered to a billing address in Largo, Fla. Police there told Ms. Vaidya the ages of both people the number was registered to, and gave her an address in Hull, Massachusetts that was in their database. Ms. Vaidya also ran both parties to whom the phone was registered through the Registry of Motor Vehicles and was able to learn their names and ages, and that they may be living in Hull or Quincy. 

Ms. Vaidya contacted the Hull police and asked them if they would check out the address. Hull police were able to determine within about 10 minutes that it could not be located. 

Meanwhile, she called the Massachusetts State Police and they were able to tell her the last call from the cell phone may have bounced off a cell tower in Quincy. She was able to get two addresses in Quincy, so Ms. Vaidya contacted the Quincy police. 

Quincy police were then able to find the woman in distress and she was taken by ambulance to the hospital, according to Ms. Vaidya. 

“She did live,” Ms. Vaidya said. “From the original 911 call, it was an hour and 10 minutes until the call to Quincy. I literally used every resource I could come up with.” No information was available concerning the circumstances of the suicide attempt. 

In this case, Ms. Vaidya said, she was able to find out the woman survived; dispatchers often don’t know the outcomes of 911 calls, she said. 

“Chief Freitas and Sgt. Emerick said, ‘You literally found a needle in a haystack,’ ” Ms. Vaidya said. 

Police Chief Scott J. Freitas gave Ms. Vaidya a commendation, and at a meeting last week, the Board of Selectmen honored her, as well. 

“Kristen displayed extraordinary perseverance,” Chief Freitas said. “This incident exemplified her dedication and professionalism — it’s a testament to her tenacity.” 

Chief Freitas said the couple in town who called 911 also should be credited. 

“They had the compassion to call,” he said. 

Police Sgt. Peter Emerick was on duty the day the 911 call came in, and Ms. Vaidya said he supported her in her efforts to keep working to find the person in distress. 

“There was a little bit of luck, too,” she said. “The entire time I was working on this, not a single 911 call came in. Ten minutes after we found her, a call came in.” 

Ms. Vaidya said it is rewarding to practice all the skills she teaches in classes throughout the state. She said she loves teaching. 

“It’s a story I tell a lot of my training classes all the time,” Ms. Vaidya said. “All this training, you never know when you need to pull it out of your back pocket.” 

In 1990, Massachusetts enacted legislation providing for Enhanced 911 on a statewide basis in the state. This legislation established the Statewide Emergency Telecommunications Board. The Enhanced 911 system automatically displays the address and telephone number of the emergency caller on a screen at all 911 communications centers in Massachusetts, commonly referred to as Public Safety Answering Points. There are approximately 270 Public Safety Points in the state, some of which are regionally based to answer calls for multiple communities. The Enhanced 911 program in Massachusetts is funded by a surcharge on all wire-line and wireless telephones. 

The program is considered one of the best in the country, because of its coordinated approach and the redundancy and diversity required of the service provider, Verizon New England, according to the board’s Web site. All dispatchers and call-takers who answer Enhanced 911 calls are required to be certified through the board’s training program. 

In 1996, the Federal Communications Commission issued an order requiring implementation of a new Enhanced 911 system for wireless phone carriers nationwide. This changed the board’s mission from focusing primarily on wire-line 911, to the new phase of wireless communications. About half of all 911 calls are made from wireless phones.


----------



## Andy0921 (Jan 12, 2006)

Great job!


----------



## ferus fidelitas (Aug 23, 2005)

two thumbs way up for her... Thank You !!!


----------



## max (Nov 8, 2006)

Wow! Job well done!


----------

