Andrew’s Voice Could Be The First You Hear In An Emergency
You have an emergency and you call 911, if the voice on the other end is a man’s, chances are you reached Ryan Andrew, an eight-year veteran with Kosciusko 911 Communications.
His desire was to work in the criminal justice system as a police officer, but when it didn’t work out, he sought an alternative. Becoming a dispatcher. “I was intrigued with law enforcement,” Andrew, a Warsaw native, says. “This keeps me in the profession and a little safer.”
For years no one could mistake what dispatcher they had spoken to when calling the center. All they had to say was “I talked to a guy.” Up until recently Andrew was the only male dispatcher. “I never could get away with anything,” he laughed.
Andrew’s voice is normally heard over the police radios and scanners during the second or third shift. Occasionally it will be first shift. He works four days on and two days off and every six weeks he gets a true weekend off. But his shifts include holidays, taking him away from family gatherings. “My wife is very supportive,” Andrew states.
Second shift “statistically is the busiest, but each shift can have its busy time,” he says. This makes the work hours go by quickly. “What I like most is helping the people, the community. We’re the first voice the caller hears when calling in an emergency,” Andrew said. The key for the dispatcher is to stay as calm as possible and get the help needed. “The reward is when you save someone’s life.”
He enjoys seeing the eyes light up of elementary students touring the center. “They can see their school (on the monitor) and when we show them their house (on the monitor).”
The duties of a dispatcher are not simple tasks. It takes training and keeping up with the changing technology. This means continual learning.
He has been trained in public safety telecommunications, CPR, first aid and emergency medical dispatching. He is a trainer for emergency medical dispatching and must have 12 hours a year in continuing education. The programs used have also changed. Andrew and other dispatcher, through the use of the computerized aided dispatch program, can dispatcher emergency personnel quicker just by imputing the caller’s address. Dispatcher can also keep track of where the officers are located through another program.
“It is never boring,” he says. “You never know what is on the other end of the line,” when a call comes in. “There are four on a shift … you rely on your partners. You could be giving CPR instructions while your partner is dispatching the EMS.” There is also a lot of camaraderie among the dispatchers.
When Andrew is not working he spends time with his 7-year-old son, who keeps both he and his wife busy. His wife is a kindergarten teacher at Milford School. “We play basketball, do dad and son things,” Andrew says, including Cub Scouts.
Andrew graduated from Lakeland Christian Academy and Grace College. When he’s not spending time with his family, he does things around home and help’s out around the house. “I like cleaning the bathroom,” he laughs, adding he’s often ribbed about this.