Within the Trenches

Latest Episodes:

Within the Trenches Ep 17 Apr 10, 2013

Show notes

Hello everyone, I am back this week for episode 17 of Within the Trenches. This is the last of a series of episodes that were recorded at the Mini-C conference in Boca Raton Florida. In this episode I sat down with four of Palm Beach State College 9-1-1 Dispatch Academy's finest. The conversation I had with Lisa, Myrnett, Wayne and Kimberly was excellent and refreshing. Their insight and experience going through the academy brought me back to when I first started. My beginning wasn't as elaborate but it definitely brought me back. Thank you very much for sitting with me and sharing your experience. I have dubbed you the Fearless Four. Good luck on your finals and I know you will do great things.

I want to thank Tom of the Cool Kids of 9-1-1 for inviting Within the Trenches to be part of this and everyone involved in the Mini-C conference and those who were guests on the show. On behalf of Whitney and I, we appreciate it more than you know. If you would like to know more about the Palm Beach State College 9-1-1 Dispatch Academy you can follow the link below. As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and make sure to like us on Facebook!

Palm Beach State College 9-1-1 Dispatch Academy | Web

Episode topics

Why each one of them wanted to get into dispatching
Their experience in the academy
Calls they have listened to
The recent Bakersfield California call controversy
Their message to anyone thinking of getting into dispatching

Within the Trenches Ep 16 Apr 08, 2013

Show notes

Good evening folks! I am back again with a new episode of Within the Trenches. This episode is a continuation of the series of episodes that I recorded this past week at the Mini-C conference in Boca Raton Florida. In this episode I had the privilege of speaking with Cheryl who works with Palm Beach County 9-1-1 Management and is a part-time 9-1-1 dispatcher. Cheryl was great to talk to and she finished off the interview with an excellent message for the public. It's something that everyone needs to hear because when you make a 9-1-1 call there is specific information we need so her message is one that is very important.

As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and make sure to 'Like' us on Facebook!

Episode topics -

How Cheryl got into dispatch
How long she's been doing it
Next Generation 9-1-1
Memorable call - Home invasion where callers mom was shot and the little girl on the phone was also shot w/Cheryl on the phone
Message for the public

Within the Trenches Ep 15 Apr 05, 2013

Show notes

Good afternoon! This episode of Within the Trenches features Sabrina of West Palm Beach Dispatch Operations. We had an excellent conversation before recording and it was nice because we were able to get to know each other better. After only a few minutes of talking to her I felt as though we knew each other all our lives. This is a must listen episode that everyone can learn from. Make sure to check it out, share and as always, you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com.

Episode topics -

How Sabrina got into dispatching
The interview process
Line of duty death
Dispatch education/training

Within the Trenches Ep 14 Apr 04, 2013

Show notes

Good evening! Last week was rather busy with my root canal, 22 hour drive to Florida and graduation. I'm very happy to say that my family and I made it through everything with no problems, but last weeks episode had to be postponed. I'm still on vacation in Florida and just yesterday I had the privilege of attending the 4th Annual Mini-C conference in Boca Raton. I was initially invited by Tom of The Cool Kids of 9-1-1. He and I had been talking about promoting each others work and he mentioned this conference. It was promoted on Jabber Log and afterward he said it was too bad that Whitney and I couldn't be there during the conference. Well, it just so happened that I was going to be in Florida so I attended and recorded four great episodes.

This episode features Al, a 12 year volunteer with Boca Raton 9-1-1. He recently turned 95 years old and had much to say about 9-1-1. It was a great conversation!

Episode topics -

How Al became a volunteer
The need for more 9-1-1 public education
The need for more 9-1-1 training for dispatchers

And much more!

As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and make sure to listen, share and visit The Cool Kids of 9-1-1 for more on the Mini-C!

Within the Trenches Ep 13 Mar 20, 2013

Show notes

Hello everyone! Whitney and I are back again this week with episode 13 of Within the Trenches. A few episodes back we spoke with Cheryl of Yakima, Washington and she was not only a dispatcher but she is part of her centers critical incident stress management (CISM) team. It was an interesting and informative show and since it went so well, we wanted to bring this week's guest on to add to the topic of CISM. This week we spoke with Matt, operations manager of the communications center in Kent County. It's one of our larger areas in western Michigan and he reflected on one of his first emergencies while attending an explorers program as a teenager with a local fire department. He also touched on the importance of CISM and we spoke briefly on a call he helped us out with when we were dealing with a loss of our own.

A big thanks goes out to Kent County for allowing us the opportunity to have Matt on the show and to Matt; thank you for everything you do! It's appreciated more than you know. As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com or you can click the black contact button on the left of this page. Thanks and make sure to listen, share and comment!

Within the Trenches Ep 12 Mar 15, 2013

Show notes

Good evening everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 12 of Within the Trenches. We postponed our interview for this week because of some issues I was having with an infected tooth and some minor oral surgery but we pulled through. This weeks episode is a bit longer than the last few but it's definitely worth it. I can tell you that it's amazing and you are really going to dig it! In this episode we share four different 9-1-1 tapes involving the wonders of bees, handcuffs, shrimp fried rice and child discipline.

Whitney and I add to the tapes with our expertise and humor so this is a must listen. We also answer a couple listener questions about why we continue to ask questions after we've been given the initial information and what we do if we take a call with a language barrier. We also touch on The Call, a new movie starring Halle Berry where she plays a 9-1-1 operator. A new flash contest is mentioned and we share an excellent deal from Success Communications, Inc. Their conference called 9114911 is coming up in October and it's something you need to check out. When you register make sure to mention Within the Trenches and the offer within this episode and you will get a sweet deal. As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com!

9114911 | Web

Team Coco | Halle Berry on CONAN (The Call)

Within the Trenches Ep 11 Mar 06, 2013

Show notes

Good afternoon everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 11 of Within the Trenches. This week we spoke with Cheryl, a dispatcher and Critical Incident Stress Management, (CISM) team member with SunComm in Yakima, WA. This was an interesting episode because we were battling with the Internet, our friend and foe. We dealt with some issues over Skype and the audio was cutting in and out but after some good editing, you can't even tell that anything messed up. Despite the technical difficulties this episode was excellent and Cheryl shared some great stories with us. We touch on PTSD and below you can follow some links that will take you to the articles we mentioned within the show. On behalf of Whitney and I, we thank you for being so open with us and our audience. Personal stories can be hard to share but helping others learn from it is one of our ultimate goals with this show. If you want to reach Cheryl for all things CISM, please send us an email and we will get you in contact with her.

Coming up next week, Whitney and I will be doing an episode where we will be doing a Q & A from the listeners, playing 9-1-1 calls, discussing different topics and we will be live on Spreaker! Enjoy the show, share it with all you know and as always, you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com.

Hazards of Being A 9-1-1 Dispatcher | Link

Study: 911 Dispatchers Experience PTSD Symptoms Too | Link

Green Cross Academy of Traumatology (GCAT) | Link

Within the Trenches Ep 10 Mar 02, 2013

Show notes

Good morning everyone I hope you are having an excellent Saturday. This past Wednesday Whitney and I sat down with two different dispatchers to record episodes 10 and 11. This way we can post one this week and post the next this coming Wednesday. It gives us some time to contact more people and come up with new things to do on the show. We are currently working on topic driven episodes with Whitney and I, answering listener questions and we were recently given the green light from Dispatch Magazine On-Line to utilize their library of 9-1-1 tapes. These new in-house episodes will be live and will give a new element to the show.

This episode features Brody, a 9-1-1 dispatcher out of Harvey County 911 in Newton, Kansas who adds a little flare to the profession by talking to us about some of his tactical dispatch experience. As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and if you want to get your hands on some official Within the Trenches merchandise, you can either hit The Jabber Log Store tab above or follow the link below. Also don't forget to check out The Thin Gold Line on Facebook!

The Jabber Log Store | Web

The Thin Gold Line | Facebook

Within the Trenches Episode 9 Feb 22, 2013

Show notes

Good morning! I hope you are ready for a few stories from America’s hat. This week on Within the Trenches, Bobbi of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) joined us for episode 9 over Skype. Her stories and training were not only interesting but if I had started out my dispatching career in her center I might have gone insane. I mean, think about it,

“911 where is your emergency?”

“I have a bear in my yard!”

“An avalanche just slammed down in the area!”

Yeah…that would have been pretty crazy but I’m sure it would have been fun and an experience to take a call like that. The episode was fully balanced with humor, seriousness, and all around AWESOME! As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and we are currently seeking sponsors for the show. We are also seeking more people to participate and we do have an open call event on Facebook so make sure to check that out.

We are looking for people that bleed dispatch and want to share their experience and story with not only us but also all of our listeners. Sell it to us and let us know why you would be a good choice for the show. Whitney and I firmly believe that everyone has a great story to tell and everyone is important but we are looking for those who really want to be on the show. So this is what you need to do if you want to apply to be on the show.

Join/attend our open call
Become a fan of Jabber Log on Facebook and send us a message through there with your experience, any memorable stories and why you should be on the show.
Oh! And please leave a good email address/contact info in case we are unable to reach you through Facebook.

In the end, it’s all about you, the unsung hero’s of emergency services. It’s your story and we want to help tell it. Make sure to listen, share and if you would like to learn more about the RCMP and a new Facebook page that highlights the 9-1-1 dispatchers of Canada, please follow the links below. Without further ado, I present to you the ninth episode of Within the Trenches.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police | Web

Radio Angels Canada | Facebook

Within the Trenches Episode 8 Feb 22, 2013

Show notes

Hello everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 8 for our back to back episodes week of Within the Trenches. In this episode we chat with Dan, Director of Chilton County E9-1-1 in Alabama. Our topic of discussion takes us back to April 27 2011 when a swarm of tornadoes destroyed the surrounding area. Dan has a very extensive background in emergency services so it was very interesting to get his feedback and explanation on certain topics. We even touched on how an area in Montana and the upper peninsula of Michigan suffered a problem when their respective EAS systems were hacked to express and warn of the dangers of a zombie uprising. Can you imagine going through that? This episode was definitely informative and in good fun. For more information on Chilton County E9-1-1 follow the links below and stay tuned for next weeks episode when we chat with Bobbi, a dispatcher with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Chilton County E9-1-1 | Web | Facebook | Twitter

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