New Hampshire 911 Emergency Operations Center tour

I studied in my EMT Basic text book for three hours this morning reviewing some of the introductory chapters to refresh. Well being, ethological and legal issues, and lifting and moving patients were the chapters I covered. I took a spot in the library at Proctor and got some good studying done. This afternoon I drove to the New Hampshire 911 Emergency Operations Center to meet with Wanda Bowers, the public information representative. Wanda talked to me for a while about New Hampshire's advanced 911 system. Before I had little idea of how the whole process worked, as I am used to hearing the tones and then receiving the information. As I later found out, it is not easy to get the information we, as the emergency responders need. After going through security and a maze of hallways and stairs, two double doors took me into the heart of the operations center. (I also got to see Homeland Security's EOC, as well as the Governor's situation room.) The set up of the room was a lot similar to the trade floor my dad works on. Wanda introduced me to an EMD and she pulled up a seat for me. The EMD, Alicia, plugged my headset into her module.  After the air being quiet for a few minutes, a flashing button came up on one of the monitors, meaning a 911 call was coming in. All of a sudden I could actually hear the caller and Alicia talking to her. Based on the emergency, Alicia was giving emergency care information to the caller while the ambulance was on its way. She stayed on the line even as we could hear sirens in the background from the ambulance getting on scene. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Alicia filled in templates on the computer getting key information, then sending the information in a dual "email" and three way phone call to the appropriate dispatching agency. The whole process is flawless, and it is amazing how professional and calm all of the EMDs are. While I was there I heard delta level and echo level medical calls, several motor vehicle accidents, and a lot of random 911 calls for police assistance. I would recommend anyone involved in Fire or EMS to spend some time at 911, and want to thank my sponsor, Phil, for helping me set it up.