NRV 911 Center is first line of response for emergency calls

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - The people working in the NRV Emergency Communications Regional Authority center are quick to jump into action when a call for help comes in.

“We dispatch for the four police agencies in Montgomery County; we have Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Virginia Tech, and then this screen is for our fire and rescue, which we dispatch for 11 fire rescue agencies here in Montgomery County,” Dispatcher Andrew Raines said.

He’s one of the first lines of communication between caller and first responder.

“The best part is talking to people and being able to help them on their worst day,” Raines said.

When someone calls 911 the phone’s general location pings on the monitors. From there, it’s the dispatcher’s job to get critical information into the hands of police, fire and rescue.

“We are able to give pre arrival instructions to people when appropriate,” Executive Director of the NRV 911 Center Jason Milburn said. “Things such as CPR, child birth instructions, stopping bleeding, EpiPens, Narcan, all those type of things. We can give instructions of the phone and start help for people before a responder even arrives on scene.”

This week is National Public Safety and Telecommunicators Week, honoring the important work these men and women do every day.

“Without these people up here, the 911 phone call doesn’t go anywhere and nobody gets dispatched, no resources show up, so this is where all emergencies start,” Milburn said.

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