This week is National Public Safety Telecommunications Week to recognize the people who work behind the scenes and answer a community’s 911 calls for service.

Platteville police employ six telecommunicators to answer emergency and non-emergency calls for city and UW–Platteville police, fire and Southwest Health EMS. They are responsible for collecting pertinent information and relaying it to the appropriate emergency service.

“Frequently they must gather this information from callers who are in the midst of a crisis so they have to remain calm while multitasking and getting the emergency responders to the scene as quickly as possible,” said Police Chief Doug McKinley.

Platteville telecommunicators also serve as the main point of contact for the City of Platteville from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on weekends.  They set off the storm sirens when needed and send out text alerts to the public and emergency responders via the Nixle system.

McKinley said telecommunicators Janet Sanders, Traci Winkler, Amy Dillman, Laura Brown, Melissa Kress, and Kayla Braley “collectively have many years of experience working here and they all take great pride in helping deliver prompt and courteous service to the Platteville community.”