Mt. Clemens, MI - Macomb County has announced that it has completed work on a new dispatch training center at the Macomb County Emergency Management and Communications Technical Services Building in Mount Clemens (21930 Dunham Road).
The center will provide innovative training programs to police, fire and EMS dispatch workers through live scenarios and state-of-the-art technology. In a partnership with the Public Service Institute at Macomb Community College, dispatchers enrolled in the college’s Basic Emergency Telecommunicator Course will also be able to utilize this center as part of their program.
“Dispatchers are oftentimes the unsung heroes of the public safety profession,” said County Executive Mark A. Hackel. “They perform an essential function in protecting our communities because they are the connection point for police and fire. But that service requires a lot of training, as dispatching has gotten more technical in the last few years with text to 911, CAD systems and other digital platforms. That’s why we worked to create a training center for new hires. We want to make sure these individuals receive the training they need so when they get to their jobs, they are ready to go.”
The training center will service all dispatch centers in Macomb County, including the Macomb County Sheriff’s Dispatch, the South East Regional Emergency Services Authority (SERESA) and dispatch centers in Warren, Shelby Township, Chesterfield Township, Richmond, Romeo, Center Line and Utica.
“Our dispatch center serves three police agencies, 13 fire departments and two emergency medical services,” said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. “Dispatchers must be properly trained in each of these fields and ready to work at any one of these 12 consoles. On average, a dispatcher spends six months training to learn the various programs and geographical areas we serve. This is done within the dispatch center, a fast-paced environment with rapidly changing technology. This new training center will give staff an opportunity to train in a less active atmosphere where learning is the main focus. The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center has a budgeted staff of 64 and is currently seeking applicants.”
The project cost nearly $140,000, which was paid for with $70,000 from the Macomb County Sheriff’s 911 Dispatch Fund and $70,000 in grant funding received by Macomb County Emergency Management and Communications.
“We’ve been very creative in finding and receiving grant funds, which we used for a portion of this project,” said Vicki Wolber, deputy county executive. “We also worked closely with partners like SERESA, which have donated consoles and other products to support this work.”
Opportunities to work in the dispatching profession are currently available throughout Macomb County. Interested individuals can apply to work for the Macomb County Sheriff's Dispatch here. Additionally, SERESA has open positions listed here.