LANCASTER - The Northumberland County Department of Public Safety and its 911 dispatchers were recently honored for their efforts coordinating resources during the Northumberland County Prison Fire Jan. 14.
The department received an achievement award from the Pennsylvania Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) in Lancaster last week. William Brown, the coordinator of the county's 911 center, was happy to see the recognition.
"For how hard our dispatchers worked that day, it was well-deserved for them," Brown said. "Our 911 workers were being recognized right along those dispatchers that handled the Eric Frein case."
"In recognition of their stellar performance in the Jan. 14, 2015, fire at the Northumberland County Prison, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Officials International recognizes Northumberland County 911," the plaque reads.
In addition to the award, Brown and senior dispatcher Timothy Bixler were asked to give an educational program at the conference on Northumberland County's experience with the fire.
"As far back as anyone knows, the county has never been asked to give a program at this conference, so it's a very special honor," Brown said.
With about 150 people in the room, Bixler and Brown passed on the lessons they learned on the day of the fire.
"We've been asked to give this talk to other groups as well," Bixler said. "We learned a lot during that fateful day and now we get the opportunity to pass on that knowledge."
There were three dispatchers and two trainees working at the Northumberland County 911 center Jan. 14 when the fire was reported. From there, Bixler, operators Kevin Harring and Cheryl Reardon, and two trainees worked to coordinate fire and police response while Brown was on site, working the mobile command center.
"It was a great example of teamwork from everyone here," Bixler said. "We were stretched thin, but we all just remembered our training and kept our heads in the game. We got back to basics and used what we learned on a bigger scale."
