Extras · 1 of 4

A typical shift

Twelve hours in a dark room facing several screens, with a headset on. Calls arrive with no warning: a car crash, a heart attack, a lost child, someone who dialed by accident, someone who cannot speak. You pull out a location, decide what to send, and type while you talk. Between calls you run the radio for crews already out. The calls that stay with you are rare, and they do stay with you. Good centers take that seriously.