Johnson named
911 Dispatcher of the Year
HUDSON – For the second time, in as many years, Columbia County
911 Dispatcher Kevin Johnson has been name the County’s “911 Dispatcher of the Year”. The
award, presented in conjunction with National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, was given to Johnson by his peers in recognition
of his extraordinary devotion to the ideals and goals of public safety dispatching.
Johnson joined the County
911 dispatch department in August of 1997. In 2004, he was promoted to the position of Emergency Dispatcher
I and now supervisors the department’s training and education programs. He is a certified advanced emergency medical
dispatcher and is also certified in quality assurance review. Prior to working at the 911 department, he
was employed as an EMT and Paramedic and is currently a Deputy EMS Coordinator for the County, a position he has held since
1998.
The Columbia County 911 department is responsible for dispatching all fire departments,
EMS agencies, and police departments in the county to emergency 911 calls. They are the system status controllers
of the County’s EMS system, responsible for positioning ambulances around the county as areas become depleted of resources.
They serve as liaison between the County and the National
Weather Service during times of severe weather outbreaks and are responsible for activating the Emergency Alert System should a major incident threaten the county.
Dispatchers are the responder’s lifeline. They are trained to identify
potential threats to responders and help mitigate those threats, when possible, before responders arrive. It’s
a job that requires extensive training and skill. Columbia County 911 dispatchers each receive 21 hours
of continuing education annually on a variety of subjects including CPR, hostage negotiations, medical triage and dispatching,
active shooter, domestic violence and suicidal callers.
For more information about Columbia County 911, contact
911 Director Robert Lopez at (518) 828-1263.
