After 22 years and some change, Colorado County Telecommunications Supervisor Brenda Henkes goes 10-42, ending a long career helping people in need. When she announced her decision, her parents were uneasy about her foray into emergency dispatch, as it was called in the old days.
Her parents said she couldn't do the job. They could have been right for those who work in the emergency sector. Emergency dispatch is not your average nine-to-five job. This is what makes this story unique.
The burnout rate for dispatchers is about two years. Most calls are routine. Then, the call you will remember from that day forward comes through. It could be a murder, a suicide, a horrific accident and, if it is someone you know, it is especially trying.
Nothing is more nerve-racking than dispatching one of your deputies on a potentially dangerous call and not being able to reach them on the radio when you are checking on them for their safety.
But nothing is more reassuring to the deputy knowing there is someone who is there for you to help send reinforcements or just to hear a calm voice in the night.
While handling the call, a dispatcher must remain calm and in control. No, they are not on the scene, but they are the voice of reassurance, reason, and direction while coordinating the response of law enforcement and other emergency units.
All the while, the dispatch must be engaged from beginning to end and then it is over. “You are going through it with them,” said Henkes.
Emotions could stay bottled up, or the tears could come easily. Henkes said about the emotional side, "You kept go ing through the tears. Not long ago, there was no debriefing after a major situation. You just sucked it up and went about your job. Now, talking to someone about your feelings could help override the
negatives of the job." In 2001, Henkes started under Col orado County Sheriff Curly Wied and four in the dispatch room with one monitor screen. Today, there are 11 dispatch positions and five screens. The call vol -
ume has easily doubled to 50 calls daily and approximately 30 calls at night.
The Colorado County Communications Center dispatches over 25 agencies.
The shifts are filled with the call volume plus validating and inputting warrants, stolen vehicles, all entries and paperwork for the jail, the justice of the peace offices, and a host of other clerical duties and dispatching.
Through the countless hours of mun- dane work comes the brief encoun ter with life-changing situations. Some
negative. Some positive. For Henkes, her mantra to combat the negatives is to say to herself and others, “ This too will change.”
She focuses on the positives that the job affords her. She recounts the time when a little girl drowned. She coordinated all the emergency units, including the helicopter, to fly her out. Seconds turned into minutes but stayed on task until the job was done. She learned the little girl lived.
Henkes also loved that she worked in a small community. Although her job could be thankless, there was one lady who fell in her garage and could not communicate easily. All the lady could do was say, “Help me.” Henkes recog- nized the lady's voice and sent help, which most probably helped save her
life.
Taking the supervisor's position in 2001, she didn't want the supervisor's job. She wanted to be on the console and not buried in paperwork.
However, as she moves from her cur- rent position into civilization, she won't stay not helping someone. Her to-do list includes joining the Lions Club, Habitat for Humanity, learning to quilt, getting closer to God and traveling.
Rachael Sanjuan, an 11-year communications veteran, is stepping into Henk- es's shoes. Sanjuan said," I hope to and am willing to do my best to fill Brenda's shoes.”
Henkes said, “ She will make her changes. She will do well, and she can fill my shoes."
To the average citizen, dispatch is just someone answering the phone. To officers in the field, however, they are known as the backbone of the job-just ask any officer. Dispatch Week is April 14.
