Krista Wilson had no idea she would one day end up working as a 911 operator.
But more than 25 years after taking her first call, the seasoned operator has no regrets.
Those working behind the scenes in the public safety community are being recognized this week during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Wilson was working at a law firm in the 1990s when an ad appeared in the paper looking for 911 operators in Saint John.
“My father saw the ad and thought, ‘hey, I think you’d be good at that, why don’t you apply.’ I applied and the rest is history,” Wilson said in an interview.
Wilson has been working at Saint John’s public safety communications centre (PSCC) since 1995 and is currently a supervisor in the centre.
The centre is one of six public safety answering points (PSAPs) in New Brunswick which answer 911 calls.
“There’s no average day. You never know when you walk in the door what’s going to happen,” said Wilson.
“I could walk in on a Friday night and think it’s going to be busy and there’s nothing going on. Vice-versa, I can walk in on a Sunday and there’s call after call after call.”
A look at one of the workstations at the public safety communications centre (PSCC) in Saint John. (Image submitted)
Telecommunicators are known by some as the first “first responders” and “heroes behind the headset.”
Wilson said many people do not understand what goes on behind the scenes when they call 911.
“We may not be there on the scene. We don’t see it, but we hear everything. We can hear the screams. We can hear the calls for help,” she said.
While 911 operators often deal with bad calls, there are also many that have positive outcomes.
Wilson recalls an incident in February 2021 when an elderly man with Alzheimer’s went missing from his home.
“It was a very, very, very cold day and I thought if that were my parent, I would want somebody out there looking,” she said.
“It was an all-hands-on-deck type of thing. There were officers from all over looking. Any tip that was called in was relayed to the officers.”
A little more than two hours later, a citizen noted a gentleman matching the description walking by his home. He brought the man into his home to warm up and called it in.
Although cold, the man was fine and reunited with his family.
For those interested in working as a telecommunications operator, Wilson said the application process is quite extensive.
“There is aptitude testing that they have to do, you have to have a hearing test, a typing test, a bilingual test, background checks. It takes probably a few months before we actually get any candidates,” she said.
It is important to be level-headed and have the ability to think on your feet, said Wilson.
“Somebody who can stay level-headed and not take everything home with them,” she said.
