The McKean County District Attorney’s Office expressed its appreciation to the county’s dispatchers during this National Public Safety Communicators’ Week, which lasts from April 12-18.

“These professionals are called upon to receive a large volume of calls and handle each one with relative calm,” said District Attorney Stephanie L. Vettenburg-Shaffer said in a statement. “Each caller is likely in the middle of chaos and, potentially, danger yet our dispatchers manage the chaos with ease. The caller’s outcome may often be credited to the expertise of our dispatchers.

“With each call, they may be the first point of contact for victims of crime and their expertise is critical to the safety and well-being of callers and first responders,” she said.

Shaffer added that the county’s emergency dispatchers are also the first point of contact for first responders.

“Their services are vital to ensure the appropriate response to any given emergency and our firefighters and police rely on their efforts,” she said.

Shaffer talked about the risks first responders face — and about the actions dispatchers take to protect them.

“With each call, they face unknown dangers and the current COVID-19 pandemic places their lives in jeopardy from a silent killer,” she said of first responders. “Our dispatchers recognize this additional danger and they have created a protocol to screen callers for COVID-19 symptoms to better alert our first responders.

“Dispatchers are tasked with calming victims, directing witnesses, and alerting police, firefighters and other responding agencies,” she said. “Their expertise is critical to each call — often calls involving life and death circumstances. The McKean County District Attorney’s Office recognizes and extends its gratitude for our county’s dispatchers. Thank you to our Dispatchers.”