GLADSTONE, Mo — During this time of year, when people are snowed in at home, there are a lot of services that stop. 911 isn't one of them.
John Hilton has been a dispatcher for about 13 years in Gladstone, so he's worked plenty of shifts with inclement weather.
"Most of it comes in waves," Hilton said.
Their call volume is unpredictable. On days like these, they typically know what to expect.
"We've had pretty steady call volume," said Rob Sanderson, administrative services manager for the Gladstone Police Department. "The major impact for us has just been a delay in response to get where we need to go."
When they're just doing the job, they don't always think about being the emergency dispatcher to get someone through a crisis.
"It feels good. A lot of times it goes to the wayside to some degree because the next call comes in, and it just never stops," Hilton said.
As a dispatcher, they remain the calming voice in the midst of a storm even when you can't see it
"A lot of it is helping people we never see," Hilton said. "We never hear the outcomes of the calls, or what happened to the person transported to the hospital. Just knowing we can provide that level of service to help them, it does help motivate us each time that phone rings."
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