ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Years of shortages in dispatch centers across the country are turning around as the next generation prepares to make their next steps.

“I ask questions like a million times a day,” Makenna Hutchinson laughed and said.

She participated in the City of Rochester’s Summer Public Safety Internship Program last year, on the emergency telecommunications (TCC) track. Now, she’s a few weeks into her training as a fire dispatcher.

What You Need To Know

  • Emergency communication centers across the country have been struggling with staffing shortages for years

  • During the pandemic, many long-time workers retired, and others became burnt out from the long hours and stress on the job

  • The City of Rochester offers a paid Summer Public Safety Internship Program for 17- to 21-year-olds to get some experience in emergency telecommunications (TCC), or firefighting

  • Makenna Hutchinson completed the TCC track last summer and has since been hired and started her training as a fire dispatcher

  • 17-year-old Kysjae Robinson completed the TCC program this summer and is looking forward to the challenges and committment it takes to continue her training and help her community

“It is kind of a unique career path. I [have] kind of always been on the pathway of law enforcement and just public safety and communications,” Hutchinson said.

As with any first responder, it’s a position full of unknowns, but she always knew she wanted to help people when she grew up.

“I think this job is very challenging. I think that when I was able to take the internship program, it kind of just gave a taste of what the job would actually be,” Hutchinson explained. “So it gave me an idea of if I think I would be good for the job or not. And I think at some point points may have been challenging, but I thought that I could overcome the challenges and kind of become like a great fire dispatcher.”

Kysjae Robinson, 17, just finished her internship and is on a similar track as Hutchinson.

“That's why I took my interest in TCC because this is the headquarters is the brain of where it all starts, and you can't do much it out of brain, you know?” Robinson said.

She too had always pictured a career of helping people.

“I wanted to get in the work field of helping people,” Robinson explained, “and I saw 911 telecommunication and I looked it up. I was like, 'what is that, exactly?' And you literally answer the phone just to help people. It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the baseline of it.”

It’s a career that’s come with its unique challenges since staffing struggles first started during the pandemic when more workers retired, or became burnt out by the workload.

“It could be possibly overwhelming, not intimidating. But, it's just a lot of workload to take on, but I think it's worth it. I think it's the most definitely worth it,” Robinson explained. “It's a lot of commitment. That's another reason why maybe my generation hasn't really thought about this type of role, but I think I really think I can do it here like I do. It feels good because, after COVID-19, we need replacements for those, like everybody kind of needs to step it up.”

Both of the upcoming 911 workers say the challenge is worth the risk when it comes to helping your community and first responders to safety.

“I feel like saying helping people is very generic, but when you’re actually proving for somebody’s everyday life. When we’re helping people every day, I wouldn’t say it’s satisfying, but it's more you have a piece of their life that you experienced with them,” Hutchinson said.

“I just gotta remind myself, 'what are you working for? Working to help people.' And the hours? It's a lot of helping. It’s just the simplicity of my thinking just will keep me going. So, I think I can do it. I’m pretty strong,” Robinson laughed and said.