A small crowd gathered at the Department of Emergency Management — or DEM — to celebrate the completion of renovations at San Francisco’s 911 dispatch center.
“Alright, well I think this is it, mayor. Let's go ahead and..."
*sound of ribbon cutting*
"Yay!”
Mayor London Breed was joined there by a number of city workers, including Teresa Burns, a former 911 dispatcher, who helped manage the renovation. Burns took the time to show KALW around the space.
“That used to be a wall with a room. So, we expanded out there. Wow. And then, even here, we expanded this way. So, like there's the supervisor's office.”
They also updated the break room, and got new office furniture.
“You know, bigger screens, you know, more equipment. This furniture will allow for a lot more growth.”
San Francisco, along with 911 dispatch centers across the country, has suffered from a hiring shortage, and slow response times. The city says they’ve taken measures to make the hiring process simpler, but even with those measures in place, it can still be a two year process. Again, Teresa Burns.
“You know, you have to do background checks, you have to do all kinds of stuff. So, that all takes time. ”
But the city is trying to entice people to apply to the many open positions they have by emphasizing the high starting salary, benefits, and opportunities for advancement. Burns, who was a dispatcher for 26 years before retiring, wants people to know how good of a job it was for her.
“I think it's a great career for anybody that's, you know, interested in helping the public, but not really sure what they wanna do.”
Right now, SF has 124 fully-trained dispatchers, and 14 trainees. Their goal is to have between 160 to 165 fully-trained dispatchers.
