This combined episode with the hosts of Dispatch in Depth, Tell Me Exactly, and Within the Trenches took place at NAVIGATOR 2025. Attendees were invited to share their answers to the following questions: What facts would you tell someone who doesn’t think emergency dispatchers are first responders? What stories would you tell them? What would you say to other first responders who don’t think emergency dispatchers are first responders?
The champion and creator of the 911 SAVES Act, California Congresswoman Norma J. Torres gives some insight into this bill she and her colleagues are trying to pass to get emergency dispatchers reclassified as first responders. She tells some stories from her time as a dispatcher in Los Angeles, explains what the act does and does not do, and gives advice on how you can get involved in this important movement.
Captain Kevin Haight, Commander of Statewide Emergency Communications in Idaho, talks about his master's thesis on the reclassification of emergency dispatchers, including why the current classification is a problem and what steps need to be taken to fix it...
