Every April, Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services and first responders across North America honour 911 dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week.
We thank all those who help keep residents safe around the clock, seven days a week.
Our firefighters work throughout the day and night to keep our communities safe but before they arrive, it is our operators who are on the front lines, virtually. Their calm, knowledgeable and helpful guidance saves lives. Telecommunicators, also known as 911 dispatchers, experience emergencies with you, despite not being on location.
During emergencies, the role of a 911 call taker is crucial. These professionals are trained to handle high-pressure situations with a main goal of gathering all necessary information from the caller. The information collected includes the nature of the emergency, the location, and any specifics that can help first responders prepare before they arrive on the scene.
I encourage you to take some time to learn more about best practices when calling 911 some of which are:
1. Always dial 911 immediately if a home or building is on fire or if you see or smell smoke and make sure you get to a safe place.
2. Stay calm and answer questions as clearly as possible.
3. Know that your call will be quickly transferred to the appropriate emergency communicator (fire, ambulance or police). For a fire emergency, our staff will help guide you and it is essential that you follow their instructions.
4. Tell the emergency communicator your exact location, especially if you are calling from a cell phone. To find your exact geographic location, especially in a remote area, use the compass on your cell phone to get the latitude and longitude coordinates or the What3Words app
5. While on the call, do not hang up — the emergency communicator may ask you for more information.
6. If you cannot speak, try tapping on the phone to respond to the emergency communicator.
First responders and public safety telecommunicators recognize that calling 911 is not an easy task but calling for help can help save a life.
To help make the emergency communication experience easier, Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services is implementing components of Next Generation 911 (NG9-1-1) in 2025.
NG9-1-1 is a crucial step in improving emergency response capabilities, especially in situations where traditional voice calls may not be possible or sufficient. This new technology will eventually allow the transfer of digital data from bystanders or sensors at the scene, including audio and video, photos and texts, data from medical devices, car sensors at crash scenes and building alarms. This will lead to safer, faster, and more informed emergency responses.
I hope you never have to face an emergency, but if you do, I want you to know that Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services and other first responders will support from you every step of the way.
Stay safe, Mississauga!
Deryn Rizzi is chief of Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services.
