By Sarah Vogelsong
CP Reporter
Often the first step in handling an emergency is staying calm—and that’s what 911 Communications Officer Debbie Schools is there to make sure happens.
“You’re basically the voice of help,” she said. “You’re on the phone, and you’re helping them that way until the EMTs or the firefighters or the police can get there.”
With a long history in emergency response, Schools has had the chance to see firsthand all the different steps in the process of giving aid to someone in need.
Like many other people in county fire and rescue and at the Sheriff’s Office, this type of work is in the blood for Schools. Growing up, her father served as the chief of Port Royal Fire and Rescue, and she was introduced to emergency response through volunteering with the Port Royal squad while attending Caroline High School.
In 1986, she moved over to volunteer with the rescue squad in Bowling Green, where she met her husband, who was serving there as well. When the two eventually married and had a son, Schools transferred over to the 911 call center.
“I wanted to experience what it would be like on the other side,” she said. “I liked both, but after I became pregnant with my son, I kind of got out of running with the rescue squad.”
Schools started full-time as a county dispatcher in 1989, where she worked until 2004, when she transferred over to the Hanover County Emergency Communications Center and got a chance to experience her job in a different, more fast-paced context. In 2005, she returned home to the Caroline 911 center part-time and then went full-time once again the following year, a position she has held ever since.
Although Schools said that when she first transferred from rescue work to dispatch, she missed being able to interact physically with patients, she quickly grew to enjoy the different kind of help she could give over the phone lines.
“To (callers), at the time, it is (an emergency), and they need that reassuring voice on the other side of the phone,” she said.
And just as being out at the station offered an infinite variety of experiences, so too did dispatching.
“Each day is different, depending on the call and the type of call,” she said.
Similarly, she found that dispatching was equally as rewarding as running calls from the station. Schools said that one of the most satisfying aspects of her work is knowing that she was there to help someone in his or her time of need—although she said it can be difficult when she knows the person on the other end of the line. She remembers in particular one call she received in which she walked a woman through the steps of administering CPR to her husband. The man survived, and the woman in her gratitude sent flowers to Schools.
She wasn’t the only one to express her appreciation of the work Schools was doing. In 2013, Schools was recognized by the Sheriff’s Office as dispatcher of the year.
The strong community spirit that exists in the county is, to Schools, one of the most appealing aspects of working in Caroline.
“It’s close to home, it’s a good place to work,” she said. “I enjoy the people I work with and the people I work under.”
Today, one of those people is her husband, Chris Schools, who also works as a dispatcher with the county. Debbie Schools said that although the two share many of the same work experiences, they try not to let work dominate their life and conversation at home—“We kind of change it up,” she said.
Safety tip
Schools recommends that when individuals call 911, they remember that the communications officers are required to ask a certain type and amount of questions to make sure that they fully understand the emergency and can respond appropriately.
“Just try and stay calm during the situation,” she urges citizens. “And just try to stay on the phone and answer the questions.”
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