The Montgomery County Council held a hearing Wednesday to discuss if 24-hour shifts are too much for 911 dispatchers to handle.
This comes after a dispatcher fell asleep on the job earlier this year. The dispatcher was heard snoring during a woman's frantic call for help in April. The caller's husband was having trouble breathing.
"It cannot happen again,” Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner said, “and now I stand before you and say it will not happen again."
The dispatcher was 17 hours into a 24-hour shift and less than an hour away from a sleep break. He was disciplined.
“I think it makes sense to go to shorter shifts, and I think it’s also healthier, less likely to result in a potential problem of someone nodding off,” Montgomery County Council member Phil Andrews said.
It could take time and collective bargaining to shorten the shifts, so other changes have been made to the Montgomery County Emergency Call Center. There is more staffing, a reconfigured floor that gives supervisors direct line of sight to monitor all dispatchers, and a quality assurance officer to oversee operations.
“I want to assure everyone in Montgomery County that the public is not at risk here, that a matter of public safety is, if you will, the highest regard,” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief Richard Bowers said.
The patient received treatment and has since made a full recovery.
