Buncombe County honors 911 dispatchers as vital first responders

When Buncombe County residents dial 911, the call lands at a 76-person communications center that county figures say handled 186,985 emergency calls and dispatched 273,111 incidents in 2021. County officials used National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week to put the spotlight on the dispatchers who answer those calls, coordinate responders and stay on the line when seconds matter.

Buncombe County says its Public Safety Communications Center is the central answering point for public safety agencies in the county. After the Board of Commissioners approved consolidation of 911 services for the City of Asheville and Buncombe County in 2021, county dispatchers also began handling calls for the Asheville Fire Department and Asheville Police Department, making the center the nerve center for a broader local emergency response network.

The county’s 2024 proclamation recognized April 14-20, 2024, as National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week and described dispatchers as the lifeline between the community and emergency responders. The county had also marked the week in 2023 with an employee spotlight on members of the 911 dispatch team, a sign that officials view the work as more than back-office administration. It is the first point of contact during fires, crashes, medical emergencies and other calls that can escalate quickly across Asheville and the rest of Buncombe County.

The day-to-day demands are not abstract. Buncombe County says callers can text 911, but voice calls are preferred when possible because dispatchers can gather information faster by phone. That matters when storms hit mountain roads, downtown fills with tourists, or a major incident creates a sudden surge in calls and dispatches.

The county’s recognition also came as emergency communications centers around the country faced staffing and retention pressure. In March 2024, Buncombe County commissioners approved a pay stipend for 911 call center staff to help address critical staffing shortages. Around the same time, a NENA: The 9-1-1 Association survey found that 75% of emergency communications centers lacked the budget to expand their workforce, 82% of centers with hiring capacity had trouble filling vacancies and 50% of trainees did not complete probation.

NENA CEO Brian Fontes has called telecommunicators the “first first responders,” a description that fits the quiet, high-pressure work Buncombe County is asking residents to notice. In a county where Asheville, Black Mountain, Weaverville and the surrounding mountain roads can all feed into the same emergency system, the dispatch bench is part of the public-safety front line.