Across the country, emergency call centers are short-staffed, underfunded, and losing dispatchers faster than they can replace them. A 2023 survey found that one in four 911 positions nationwide is vacant, and 36% of centers reported having fewer positions filled in 2022 than in 2019. Martinez explains to Business Insider how dispatchers decide who gets help first for police, ambulance, and fire services, why they sometimes have to drop one call to save another, and the "caller hacks" that can literally save your life.
When Rhian Haselip woke up feeling under the weather, she didn't think much of it. As a mother of two young children, fatigue and sniffles are part of everyday life. But as the hours passed, her mild discomfort gave way to intense nausea. Haselip remembers leaving her 7-year-old daughter, Jessica, and 3-year-old son, Brody, in front of the television while she ran upstairs to vomit.