Customer Reviews

Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having worked as a 911 dispatcher, I cannot say enough good things about Ms. Burau's book. It is difficult to put into words what the job is like, the sorts of feelings and experiences dispatchers get, and Ms. Burau does an amazing job of explaining it. I found myself nodding in agreement (or laughing out loud,) seeing my own experiences in the events she narrates.

By no means is her account a whitewash or festival of warm fuzzies; some of the events she describes (and her and other dispatchers' reactions to those events) may be shocking or disturbing to those who haven't been there. This doesn't make those events or reactions any less real, or any less common in other police departments or dispatch centers.

Dispatchers are sometimes overlooked in the organization of police departments; many people assume the person they speak to on the other end of 911 is a police officer. Ms. Burau does an exceedingly good job of opening up this sub-society. Highly recommended, both for laypersons outside the field who want to understand what it's like in a 911 comm center, and for dispatchers who want a mostly humorous, sympathetic look at what we choose to do for a living. This is the best written account of 911 dispatching I've read.

This was one of those "staff picks" at the library that catches your eye as you're trying to check out the books you *did* come in for... Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat by Caroline Burau. Since it was relatively short and had a sufficiently quirky premise, I picked it up. It turned out to be one of the more entertaining reads I had this year.

Contents:
What It's Like; Destiny, or Something; On-the-Job Training; Joe Wilson; Power Phones; Lily; Good Neighbors; Friends in High Places; Anniversary; Jurisdiction; My Marsha; Kristen; Coppers; Hostages; Smucked; On the Night Shift; That Loving Feeling; Just Too Silly; changes; Words; On Burnout; The Parenting Option; On Wannabes; DOA; The Job; Retirement; Wherever You Go; Full Circle; Acknowledgements

Burau has led a far different life than most of us... She was somewhat of an outsider growing up, and ended up getting hooked on crack. This addiction, fed by her boyfriend, culminated with her doing a few days in a Florida jail when she was busted for "loitering", just moments before they were supposed to be picking up some product. She took a hard look at what she had become, and ended up going back home to start over. Her nursing career ended in college when she would get queasy over blood. Her career as a reporter wasn't working out much better. One day while following a story at the police station, she was encouraged to apply for a job as a 911 operator. Surprisingly, her drug background didn't discourage the interviewers, and she started a new life on the desk of a small-town emergency response agency. She's a great writer, so you quickly get sucked into her struggles to learn the lingo, the multiple terminals and switchboards, and the processes that are necessary to make sure the right people are sent out to the right incidents. She also shares the pain of having someone die on the other end of the line, and the agony of trying to know if you were the cause of it. She also ends up knowing far more about her neighbors than she wished she knew, and soon everyone she sees has some sort of background story that she can't just pretend didn't happen.

Other than the sheer entertainment factor of the book, it also made me think about those people who are on the other end of the phone line when we dial 911. We don't have a clue as to the stress and pressure they're under, and how each day exposes them to more ugliness and insanity than most of us experience in a lifetime. You almost want to dial 911 and just say "thanks for being there", except that they have other more important calls to take. :)

Well written, funny, and interesting... Definitely worth a read.

I've worked for 9-1-1 since 1986 and have been in the same center since 1991 and must say this book surprised me with it's completely unvarnished look at the career of 9-1-1 dispatching. The prose is good, the content accurate, and the people genuine. If you want to know about working for 9-1-1 this book has it right.

I've read the other reviews on here and to those who gave the book 3 stars I want to point out -
1. Yes, the author does spend a lot of time on the non-emergency calls. This is an honest look at our workload and I applaud the author for not adopting a Rescue 9-1-1 type mentality where only the exciting or sexy calls make the final cut. To really get the feel for our profession you need to hear about it all or you will never understand why we ask all the frustrating questions we do when you just want us to "just get them here!"
2. Former drug addict in our line of work? This surprised me too. Where I work we are unable to hire people who have felony level crimes in the criminal history background. However, standards differ throughout the country and there are some areas where turn-over is quite high. High enough that employers are willing to accept applications from those that others wouldn't. Having said that, the author is the genuine article and regardless of her background, she's doing the job the way the rest of us do it.

I purchased this book for some light reading and ended up sharing it with my entire center. It doesn't matter where you work - as 911 Dispatchers the same issues are faced, the sames jokes are told, and the same fellings are felt!! Should be required reading before a candidate sits for the civil service exam!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The tales of real life drama unfolding in Caroline Burau's ear as a 911 operator are rivetting. The author's description is so vivid I felt like I was there listening to the calls myself. Besides drama at work, the author touches upon her own personal journey with life on the dark side and reveals how she can connect all to well with some of her callers. Her candor, wit, and attention to detail kept me glued to my book!

I just downloaded this book and have to tell you and all of my dispatch friends and family that it is the one book that you really need to read... I am only part way through it and already I have laughed, cried grieved, have been elated and laughed again so hard that my sides ached for hours...

If you only read one book this year or ever again, make it this one... Every dispatcher should read this and everyone that ever wondered about what a dispatcher is or does should read it too... It should be mandatory reading in every 911 Dispatch training program... This book will be in my archives forever...

I am a 911 dispatcher, and have been for the past year and 2 months. This book hits the nail on the head when it comes to our job. This book is ideal for anyone; for those that have dispatched it's entertaining and enlightening and good to know that these calls don't just happen to you, and for those who have never dispatched it's informative. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and found it easy to relate to the situations that she describes.

I work as a 911 dispatcher and this book is a very accurate portrayal of what we deal with. I am generally not one to read much of a book, but I could not put this one down. Most people don't understand the stress and humor that mix together in a comm center. This book shows both sides. Highly recommended!

I'm applying for a dispatching position and doing all the research I can for the job. This was a big help to that end and her life story was interesting as well..

I have been strongly considering a position as a 911 Operator/Dispatcher and have had a hard time finding information regarding the "real life" of the job. This book was exactly what I needed! I enjoyed the author's practical information on her perspective of days in the "Hot Seat". Her inner thoughts on good days, bad days and those days where she adds a delightful sense of humor kept it "real". I could feel myself sitting in the comm center with her. This is an easy book to read and I had a hard time putting it down. I book marked some pages and have gone back to read them just to see if I could see myself doing this job.

Now if you are looking for information to pass the test or other training information, this isn't the book. BUT I would highly recommend it to someone interested in the field, to someone who is already doing the job or to someone who just wants to know how someone on the other end of 911 felt.