Lassen County Dispatch

I have needed to call 911 exactly ONE time in my life. One day at the market we had a very belligerent man making threats to our clerks. I asked him to leave but he continued to be very aggressive. He was still yelling and threatening us as the phone was answered. Imagine my relief when the person answering the call was Cliff Bannister, a LoCaL I had known for years. He knew where my store was and could easily picture the scene since he's a regular customer. The man left and I told Cliff I thought it was alright now but he sent a unit to be sure.



Our dispatchers are LoCaLs just like you and me, that live here and want our community to be the best it can be. Locals that have what it takes to perform this stressful job. They are intelligent and have the ability to remain calm while working through an emergency situation.
   

I asked dispatcher Michelle Wolf if I could come in and see where they work. The command center each dispatcher works on looks intimidating. So much to watch, know and understand while responding to each emergency but that isn’t all, as dispatcher Margie Campbell pointed out their duty is also to make sure every officer gets home to their families safely. Michelle says they need to learn the officers voices and know when a situation is heightened.


How can we help these Hometown Heroes ~
Cliff and Michelle emphasized the MOST important information when calling is LOCATION. If there is no physical address to give, look for landmarks, some way for emergency services to find you.


911 is for physically threatening/life threatening situations. Each 911 call is treated as a life threatening emergency and must be triaged. For non emergency please call the department needed directly.
Susanville Police Department 257-2171
Lassen County Sheriff 257-6121
Susanville Fire Department 257-5152
California Highway Patrol (local) 252-1900


To all the Hometown Heroes at Lassen County Dispatch~ Thank you for all you do!




Photo credits- Thank you Jeremy Couso of Susanvillestuff.com for the photo of Cliff Bannister. Thank you Lassen County Sheriff Facebook page for the K-9 photo.