You never know when emergencies will happen, but you want someone knowledgeable on the other end of the phone if you call 911.

The dispatchers at the Carbon County Communications Center are professionals who are trained in pretty much every scenario to try to help the caller before emergency responders arrive on scene.

To recognize these men and women who man the center every day, answering over 182,000 calls for help, the Carbon County Commissioners, on Thursday, declared the week of April 11 through 17 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in the county.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein thanked the men and women for their service to the county residents.

“A lot of times we realize they are under a lot of stress, especially when they are giving emergency medical service instructions to someone who may need CPR or other medical services,” Nothstein said, adding that they are trained to be very knowledgeable.

Gary Williams, 911 director, who accepted the proclamation, commended his team as well.

“Our dispatchers up there saves lives,” Williams said. “They talk someone down … and we know they deliver babies over the phone as well. You have a great team up there.”

Williams said throughout the pandemic, the dispatchers looked out for each other to make sure everyone was safe and the job was getting done.

Last year, dispatchers answered 182,598 calls for help from EMS, police or fire.