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The job of a telecommunicator can be stressful. Imagine being required to work an additional four hours to help cover calls on top of your eight-hour shift. The 911 Lucas County RCOG wants to hire 13 telecommunicators to avoid that workload on its currently low staffing.

Selina Rose is a fire telecommunicator and has been picking up calls for over a year. She usually works 3-11 p.m. and said it can get pretty busy during her shift, occasionally leading to overtime. “There’s ‘forces,’ they’re called, when you have to work over,” Rose said. She doesn’t mind doing it but said having a fully-staffed center could help with handling the call volume. “That’ll definitely help and it’ll give more leeway for if there are call-offs,” Rose said.

Ralph Shearn, a public safety communications manager for the regional council, said the call center takes 1,400-1,500 calls a day. There’s no issue with missing any of those calls, but the agency is looking to hire more people to help with overtime and give the telecommunicators a better work-life balance.

“It impacts them mentally,” Shearn said. “The stress itself will work at them. A lot of times people end up taking that home, so now it affects the home environment.” Shearn wants to get the word out about this important job.

“Most people look at the fire trucks or the police cars and that’s what they want to do,” Shearn said. “They forget about the other piece of it: what we call the first first responder.” Kevin Cook has been a telecommunicator for six months and said even with the stress, it’s all worth it.

“Being able to be that listening ear and knowing that you’re helping people in a time where they’re having a great struggle is very rewarding,” he said. For those interested in applying, you can find the application online here. You only need a high school diploma or GED certificate. According to the application, pay starts at more than $26 an hour.