Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat

Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat

Introduction and Book Summary

The book Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat describes the life of a 911 dispatcher in the true and a genuine sense. Caroline Burau, the author of the book is a former newspaper reporter and a nursing student, who decides to take a job as 911 dispatcher and gradually learns the procedures and methods involved in performing the task. The training makes her familiar with the ups and downs involved the job and the unique incidences that occur on a regular basis. The book does not contain numerous examples, and real life incidences, though, it is an easy read and provides a detailed explanation about the issues faced by 911 dispatchers and the changes that are bought about during their training.

The writer of the book, Caroline Burau, was not only afraid of blood but was also the sight of it made her sick, but her wish for helping and assisting others bought her to work as a dispatcher in 911, where she underwent a proper and comprehensive training. The training made her familiar with another world altogether, and taught her about adjusting with the catastrophe and comedies of life, along with the domestic and the drunks, the cops and robbers and the sarcasm that 911 dispatchers have to deal. In addition, she also learned to deal with calls regarding suicides and lost cats.

Discussion

Reflections

In my opinion, the book Answering 911, Life in the Hot Seat is, in fact, useful for both: the 911 dispatchers as well as the regular readers. The individuals who are interested in joining 911 can also be benefitted from the book, which contains a detailed description of the process and methods of public dealing in 911. As the 911 dispatchers have to deal with special situations that are not like the usual, everyday situations, exceptional care must be taken, as a little deviance from the routine can produce disastrous results. The dispatchers have to deal with emergency situations and have to handle then efficiently in order to avoid further loss, they have to be vigilant and active all the time as a momentary negligence can even result in loss of life, and thus have to adopt a different attitude, unlike that of other call centre agents.

In addition to explaining the job requirements of 911 and highlighting the different incidences that the dispatchers encounter, the writer also explains the challenges that are offered by the job and advises the hopeful joiners to be prepared for all such happenings.

How did the book help in preparing for the job?

The book assisted me in getting prepared for the job as it outlines all the responsibilities of a 911 dispatcher, and also threw light on the various mishaps that occur during performing duties. In addition to providing details about the challenges offered by the job, it also updated me about the positive side of it, and the inner satisfaction one gets by serving people and helping the ...