City Honors Emergency Personnel For National Public Safety Week

Press release from the Chicago Mayor's Office:

April 13, 2021

The City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) is celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 11-17, as part of National 9-1-1 Education Month to honor the outstanding contributions of the City's 9-1-1 workforce and other essential personnel. Join OEMC this week to applaud the extraordinary dedication of our 9-1-1 workforce and the challenging jobs they carry out every day to protect Chicago's residents and first responders.

On Wednesday, April 14 and Thursday, April 15, OEMC will celebrate newly graduated 9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers as well as recognize and award those who have gone above and beyond their duties as call takers and dispatchers in 2020.

Commendations, Awards of Merit and Team Performance, and Other Award Highlights:

• Several 9-1-1 personnel will be receiving Awards of Commendation for saving the life of a suicidal resident by communicating with family members in order to locate their loved one or the individual in distress.
• Multiple Police Dispatchers are receiving an Award of Merit at the recommendation of the Chicago Police Department for their skilled professionalism over the radio during the Summer of 2020.
• Select 9-1-1 personnel will also be receiving Awards of Merit for providing life-saving CPR instructions for an elderly family member in one instance and an infant in another event. In each instance, the handling call taker calmly instructed the caller on chest compressions, counting along with the caller until the Chicago Fire Department arrived on scene.
• Team Performance Awards will be given to acknowledge excellent teamwork, including 9-1-1 personnel assisting on-scene Chicago Fire Department personnel in finding a trapped resident by focusing on the ambient noises heard in the background to pinpoint the location of the resident during a Still & Box alarm fire.
• Additionally, the OEMC's Emergency Management Team is being recognized for their work during the COVID-19 Pandemic, including the City's longest Emergency Operations Center activation in its history. The 3-1-1 Call Center and Traffic Control Aides will also be recognized.

This press release was produced by the Chicago Mayor's Office. The views expressed here are the author's own.