Press release:
Four Emergency Services dispatchers from the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center, a division of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, were deployed to Broome County after the recent devastation to that area by hurricanes Irene and Lee.
Broome County Coordinator Michael Ballard requested assistance from his state counterparts to cover shifts beginning Sept. 9 through 13. Staff from Genesee County worked 12-hour shifts answering phone lines and entering calls for service into the CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch) System to dispatch the appropriate emergency service.
Along with several Broome County Emergency Services dispatchers who were personally affected by the storms, remaining staff were becoming fatigued with the long hours and several days of continual requests from citizens for emergency services. Local authorities quickly realized that additional outside resources would be needed to staff its 9-1-1 Center.
The New York State’s Office of Emergency Management contacted local Emergency Management offices, including Genesee County Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger, for additional resources to respond to the Broome County 9-1-1 Center.
One very important stipulation was that the deployment not severely impact the operations of the local 9-1-1 centers that send aid. Without impacting operations at the Genesee County 9-1-1 Center, four Emergency Services dispatchers were deployed within 18 hours of the request.
Senior Emergency Services dispatchers Gary Diegelman, James Tripp, Daniel Rieks and Emergency Services Dispatcher Robert Tripp are certified members of the New York State Telecommunicator Emergency Response Task Force (TERT), a specialized team trained to handle large-scale incidents or disasters.
In conjunction with other Emergency Services dispatchers from Livingston, Niagara and Monroe counties, they deployed to Broome County (which includes the City of Binghamton) on Sept. 9 through 11.
This team of specialized Emergency Services dispatchers was created after the events of September 11, 2001. Several other agencies within New York State have members who are certified to handle these types of large-scale events.
Genesee County currently has nine Emergency Services dispatchers who are certified to respond in this capacity. While rare, team members could be summoned not only to handle emergencies within New York State but also to assist other participating states.
Since this program’s inception, Emergency Services dispatchers from Genesee County have been requested on two occasions. In 2006, during the floods of Broome County, Emergency Services dispatchers were put on standby, however, did not need to respond. The second was the most recent request received on Sept. 8.
Broome County has been declared a disaster area, therefore, any costs or expenses incurred by Genesee County in the deployment will be reimbursed by state and federal funds.
Photos: Top, Jim Tripp; first inset, Bob Tripp; second inset, Gary Diegelman; bottom, Dan Rieks.
