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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 15, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-h <br /> SUBJECT: Public Safety Telecommunicators Week Proclamation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Kirby Saunders, Emergency Services <br /> Proclamation Director, 919-245-6123 <br /> Christopher Ward, Division Chief— <br /> Public Safety Communications, 919- <br /> 245-6139 <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation recognizing the week of April 13-19, 2025, as Public <br /> Safety Telecommunicators Week in Orange County, highlighting First Responders for the <br /> amazing work they do throughout the year. <br /> BACKGROUND: Every year across the nation, the second full week of April is dedicated to the <br /> professional women and men who serve as public safety telecommunicators. First conceived by <br /> Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County (California) Sheriff's Office in 1981, this practice <br /> was recognized by Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) in what became House <br /> Joint Resolution 284 to create "National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week". With the <br /> continued efforts of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and <br /> the National Emergency Number Association, the act to recognize public safety <br /> telecommunicators became a permanent proclamation in 1994. <br /> Each day hundreds of Orange County residents and those passing through rely on the expertise <br /> and dedication of public safety telecommunicators. These professionals help save countless lives <br /> by answering emergency calls, dispatching law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical <br /> personnel and equipment, as well as providing support to the residents and visitors of this county. <br /> Their skills in high-pressure situations assist in providing rapid emergency response, aid, and <br /> compassion in times of great distress and critical decision-making within seconds. <br /> Orange County Public Safety Communications is the primary answering point for all emergency <br /> and non-emergency service calls in the County. In 2024, Orange County Public Safety <br /> Telecommunicators answered 81,466 9-1-1 calls and handled over 90,000 administrative calls. A <br /> total of 97% of 9-1-1 calls were answered within ten (10) seconds. The telecommunicators <br /> dispatched over 77,000 calls for service with an average of five (5) telecommunicators on-duty. <br /> The public safety communications center operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, <br />