Photo by Pearce Adams

Jonathan Villegas, a 911 dispatcher for Anderson County Emergency Services, checks computer monitors at his workstation, which is designed to control fire responses to Anderson County municipalities. The monitors provide Villegas electronic maps of fire locations and a system of tonesto dispatch firefighters in the cities of Anderson, Belton, Honea Path and Williamston.

ANDERSON COUNTY — While a team of roughly 48 dispatchers handle round-the-clock inquiries involving emergencies and non-emergencies, other staff members at the Anderson County 911 Center monitor quality and provide training as needed.

Sheila Hanna-Wiles, quality assurance coordinator for Anderson County emergency services division, said each call to 911 triggers a string of computer prompts to the 911 operator from an automated dispatch system. Operators are required to confirm information such as the caller’s address, telephone number and problem and the caller’s description of what happened, Hanna-Wiles said.

The system, she said, automatically makes dispatch decisions when key responses are entered such as vehicle accidents, an unconscious person and breathing problems.

So far, the center is on a pace to answer 430,000 calls this year, said Tracy Bowman, training coordinator for the emergency services division. As of Friday, 269,744 calls have been answered at the South Towers Street dispatch center. Of those, 153,345 have included 911 calls that have required the dispatch of police, fire, rescue or medical units, Bowman said.

According to statistics provided by the center, the dispatcher volume includes 124,269 calls for law enforcement, 16,111 ambulance calls, 3,948 fire calls and 385 rescue calls, Bowman said.

Much of that volume involved automatic responses when high-priority calls were detected, Hanna-Wiles said.One call to 911 involved a report of an armed robbery at Anderson Crossing apartments in Anderson on Aug. 9.

Dale Grimes, the person who reported being robbed in that incident, has said that officials at the 911 center are not providing him access to tapes of 911 calls regarding the events of Aug. 9. He has said the officials are covering up for an operator who was disrespectful by repeatedly suggesting that Grimes might have been involved in a drug deal. Nothing in tape of the 911 calls, tape made accessible to media outlets Thursday, suggested that the operator was disrespectful or that she questioned Grimes about a drug deal.

Each call to the 911 center has different characteristics, officials said. A caller’s demeanor, for example, can range from calm and passive to hysterical screaming, officials said.

“By the answers to the questions, the system determines the priority of the call,” Hanna-Wiles said.

Bowman spoke about the system while standing in a darkened dispatch room surrounded by roughly a dozen work stations with multiple computer screens that are used to check criminal backgrounds, identify addresses or obtain a history of calls from each address. A caller’s response is key to help responders understand the problem and the type of equipment needed for the call, Bowman said.

The Anderson County center includes consoles for dispatches to animal-related complaints, South Carolina Highway Patrol, fire, emergency medical services and law enforcement. Each operator has the capability through technology to share information with other operators.

Anita Donley, grants and accreditation manager at the center, said callers have few opportunities to see the flurry of activity caused by a real emergency. While one operator gathers information, other operators initiate a response, dispatching emergency vehicles to locations needed, she said.

In major emergencies, the center runs its emergency operations center, where law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services and other agencies coordinate information from the 911 center and make decisions at a central location. Matthew Littleton, deputy chief of communications, operations and preparedness at the county’s emergency services center, said the emergency operations center was used to coordinate responses during the recent tornado touchdown in Clemson.

Operators at the 911 center are linked electronically to the emergency operations center when massive emergency responses are required, Littleton said.

Dispatcher Charles Parker uses his 911 shift primarily to monitor the dispatch of county fire equipment. Among the multiple monitors in front of his chair is one screen that identifies 27 fire stations and can trigger tones that alert emergency responders at that station.

Nearby, dispatcher Jonathan Villegas monitors terminals that control dispatch of firefighters from Anderson, Belton, Honea Path and Williamston.

Computerized maps, criminal histories and other information are among features available at each workstation.

On a higher platform in the dispatch room, Sharon Chitwood sits behind a desk that monitors the entire dispatch room, giving her control of the entire process. It’s a job that she’s handled for 16 years. Chitwood said she has the capability to join any call based on need.

Others wait until a crisis has passed, performing an analysis of calls that correct mistakes or create training opportunities.

“We randomly pull calls to ensure that operators are following policy and procedures,” Hanna-Wiles said.

That monthly routine is completed in addition to trend identification that can be used to develop special training.