Abilene Reporter-News (Texas)

Abilene Reporter-News; Christopher Collins christopher.collins@reporternews.com 325-676-6721

If your neighbor’s music is too loud, don’t call Heidi Burks.

If a restaurant messed your order up, don’t call Heidi Burks.

But if your house if burning, or if you’ve gotten in a car accident, you should definitely give her a call at 911.

Burks, 40, is a dispatch supervisors for Abilene’s police and fire services. She, along with another supervisor, oversees the handful of call takers and dispatchers each day. She works from 3-11 p.m. – the busiest shift of the day. On an average day, call takers receive 875 calls. Last year, they took 79,161 calls to 911.

“It’s a very high-stress job and a lot of people can’t handle that,” Burks said.

She and other dispatchers across the state are being honored this week – during Public Safety Telecommunicators Week – for the service they provide the community.

Burks said she applied for the dispatcher job about seven years ago after seeing an advertisement. She already got a taste of public service as a volunteer firefighter in Hawley.

“It was along the same lines of what I thought was interesting,” she said.

When you make a 911 call, you should first tell the dispatcher where you are then give your phone number in case the call is disconnected. Then describe the situation. Be prepared to answer the dispatcher’s questions, Burks said.

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