Celebrate the voices of 911 during National Telecommunicators Week

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Within a 24-hour period, dispatchers at Penobscot Regional Communications Center respond to more than 1,000 calls daily.

That’s why this week, community members are saying thank you to the first, first responders.

Every year, ‘National Telecommunicators Week’ is celebrated across the country during the second week of April.

Every person behind that 9-1-1 call has a story of their own as to why they dedicate their lives to serve the community.

For Emilee Pinkham, she was inspired by family members who serve in public safety.

While the job comes with extremely difficult situations, Pinkham says she holds onto the positive outcomes.

“CPR saves, stork awards for people who have taken calls over the phone for child birth and delivering a baby over the phone, so it’s cool to be able to look at our wall and see everybody and their accomplishments for huge events,” said Pinkham. “We just do it because we love what we do, and we love being able to help people.”

Multiple police departments in the area have dropped off gifts or shared their appreciation by stopping by the dispatch center.

Bangor Police posted their appreciation for their local dispatchers saying they field tens of thousands of calls every month, and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office calls dispatchers the “unseen heroes.”