(WAND) — Sunday marks the start of Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in Illinois. Telecommunicators, also known as 911 dispatchers, are the people who pick up the phone when someone calls an emergency number.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and Illinois State Police (ISP) are coming together to celebrate the week-long event to honor telecommunicators across Illinois.
According to a news release, ISP telecommunicators took over 567,000 service calls last year.
"Telecommunicators are often the lifeline between someone needing help, and help arriving on scene," said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. "[They] are also the calming voice on the line for officers during an emergency situation, helping to keep them safe."
The celebration is always during the second week of April annually. It was created in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California.
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