They’re known as the “calm voice in the dark”, those who are rarely seen, but often heard. 911 dispatchers play a key role in receiving emergency calls and alerting first responders.

Dewey Johnson leads St. Louis County’s emergency support services. He says during National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, the hard work of their dispatch center, will be put on display with a new Tree of Life mural.

“The Tree of Life, it’s designed to recognize the extra effort that they put for specific incidents,” Johnson said. “So what we’re going to do is have icons represent a certain type of call. It’s really to bring out and show the good work that our dispatchers do.”

Some of the different icons used to decorate the tree include a heart, an acorn, a rock, as well as a leaf. They represent helping someone perform CPR successfully, providing assistance with delivering a baby, or also going above and beyond their typical duties.

“In 2024, they answered over 194,000 telephone calls of those. About 75,000 of those were 9-1-1 calls, averaged about 400 calls in, a 24 hour period,” Johnson said. “So, everything from parking complaints to domestics to car accidents, structure fires… Anything that somebody calls 911 in St. Louis County comes into this room.”

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center helps to connect over 180 different agencies across the Northland. Their work is monumental in establishing, which unit is the most equipped to handle each emergency.

“So the system really hinges on those dispatchers making those critical decisions. The quick gathering information, and the quick relay information to the units on the road.”

As a matter of fact, the dispatch center already has plans to add three icons to the Tree of Life. One of those will be a leaf, consequently showing a dispatcher’s hard work connecting local fire departments to a structure fire.