AUSTIN — They're the first line of response when tragedy hits. 911 dispatchers and call takers rarely get recognition, but this week has been different.
It's National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and they have been showered with appreciation.
The employees agree the job is stressful but worth it.
Sheryl Medina is a 911 call taker.
"I've always been interested in law enforcement," she said.
Medina said she wanted to help the community.
"We're the first people that they're gonna call on their worst day," Medina said. "We help them with trivial things as far as noise complaints to life-threatening emergencies."
Those emergencies are then transferred to people like Alara Williams.
"I love it a lot," said Williams.
In her 14-plus years as a dispatcher, the weeks of the Austin bombings were some of her most stressful days.
"It was very hectic," Williams said.
From March 1 until April 12, APD received 2,721 suspicious package calls -- compared to just 40 in March of last year.
Nearly all calls were answered under 10 seconds – beating the national standard.
Call takers and dispatchers also had a lot of overtime -- 260 hours for call takers and 98 hours for dispatchers, totaling $10,914 in wages.
Williams said the stress affected them.
"You know, we were just as concerned to catch whoever was responsible for doing this," Williams said.
Despite the stress, dispatchers do their jobs with a smile.
"There is no normal day here," Williams said. "I mean we never know what to expect when we come in."
And they're making a difference.
"Even though I'm not on the front line, but I'm sending someone to help someone that's in need," said Williams. "So I feel like I'm just as important to the community as the officers. It's just that you don't see me."
Even though the Austin bombings were an extremely busy time for 911, nearly all calls were answered under 10 seconds – beating the national standard.