In St. Johns County, the true first responders are not always the uniformed officers and firefighters rushing to a scene—they are the Public Safety Telecommunicators who answer the 911 calls that connect residents to help.
‘At Tuesday’s St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners meeting, a proclamation recognized these unsung heroes, designating April 12–18, 2026 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
These men and women are often the first voice heard by people in crisis, guiding callers through emergencies with calm professionalism, gathering critical information, and dispatching the proper personnel.
Commissioner Clay Murphy, a retired law enforcement officer who began his career as a dispatcher in Putnam County, highlighted the demands of the job.
“I have a lot of fond memories and hard knocks of remembering the job it was,” he said.
St. Johns County Fire Chief Dusty Wilson emphasized the vital connection telecommunicators provide those under extreme duress.
Sheriff Robert Hardwick shared the staggering scale of their work, noting the team handled hundreds of thousands of calls annually and calling them heroes “behind the headsets.”
Last year, the 70 dispatchers at the Sheriff’s Office handled more than 101,000 incoming 911 and non-emergency calls, in addition to 369,000 outgoing calls—made to follow up, coordinate with other agencies, or relay critical information.
They also processed 243,000 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) calls to deputies and first responders across multiple agencies, including the National Park Service, St. Augustine Police Department, and St. Augustine Beach Police Department.
“There’s something special about those men and women out there that work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Hardwick said. “So thank you for everything that you do.”
