Bruce Fox of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office. Shawnee County has 30 full time employees, six trainees, and
three part-time employees and dispatches ten agencies in Shawnee County and
other municipalities in the area. During 2012, they averaged 500,000 911
and administrative phone calls and dispatched more than 213,000 incidents.
Bruce has been with Shawnee County for two years. Prior to
that, he has more than 13 years’ experience as a dispatcher at Riley County,
Arizona State University, Emporia, and Jackson County. Of those, 7 were spent
as a Lead Dispatcher/Supervisor at Riley County. Even though he only been with
the county for a year, he was deemed to be an experienced trainer and was
promoted to his current position in March of 2012.
He is described as a knowledgeable trainer who instills his
good work ethic and abilities in those he trains. It is also noted numerous
times that he is punctual every day and rarely uses sick leave. His reliability
and is a true bonus to his co-workers.
An email was sent to Bruce’s shift members commending them
on their teamwork during an exceptionally busy day which included: a possible
plane crash, a barricaded subject, a response team callout, a suicidal jumper,
and an armed robbery in addition to routine calls. He was a vital part of
the team that day.
On February 4, 2012, Bruce answered a 911 call from a female
who state that she had a fire in her home. The 16-year old caller, whom they
later discovered was of diminished mental capacity, was already coughing as she
attempted to answer questions. The caller also had a five-year old in the
residence with her.
Two minutes into the call, Bruce had verified the address
and had begun gathering information about the exact whereabouts of the children
inside the residence. The caller advised that she was in a room at the back of
the house and that the fire was blocking the front door. The caller’s coughing
was becoming more frequent, so Bruce encouraged the caller to break out a
window. The caller advised him that she had nothing with which to break the
window.
Four minutes into the call, he continued to urge the caller
to locate and break a window. The caller stated, “I can’t, the smoke is too
heavy. It is covering everything”. Bruce continued to gather information and
ascertained that the caller was in a two-story house and was on the main level
of the residence in a back bedroom. The young caller kept stating, “I’m in the
room on the right side of the house,” and was unable to differentiate
directions. He reassured the caller that help was on the way and encourage her
and the young boy to stay close to the floor. He also continued to prompt her
to feel her way along the wall to find a window.
The caller began to cough more heavily and told Bruce, “I
can’t breathe. How much longer?” He remained unfailingly calm while on the
phone with her and continued to comfort and instruct the caller. Six minutes
into the call, the caller began to plead, “It’s too dark to see
anything”. He reiterated that the caller should keep down, cover her
mouth, and feel her way along the wall.
Units arrived on scene eight minutes into the call. At this
point, Bruce instructed the caller and younger child to yell for help so they
could find them. Through strained coughs, the caller intermittently yelled for
help. Two minutes later, he attempted to get a response from the caller but did
not hear one. One minute later, the sound of breaking glass could be heard.
Within two minutes of arrival, personnel onscene reported that the two children
were out of the residence. Their prompt rescue was largely due to information Bruce
gleaned from the children and the instructions he gave them.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment