SOUTH HADLEY — Dispatcher Jay Rodriguez arrived to his shift at South Hadley’s Emergency 911 Center early — as he always does — when he heard a caller screaming at his co-worker, threatening to harm himself and any responding officers with his firearm.

Not only was dispatcher Angelique Kunasek busy gathering as much information as she could from the caller, she was simultaneously communicating details of the situation to South Hadley police officers, requesting assistance from other agencies and tracking the caller’s pursuit.

So when Rodriguez saw Kunasek in an already precarious situation, he leaped into the dispatch seat next to her and immediately took the other 911 calls.

“If I come in and I see that things are getting hectic, it’s my job to jump in and help out because I would want someone to do that for me,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve never met a dispatcher that would walk into work and see that there’s a chaotic call going on and not sit down.”

The dispatchers’ response to the call on July 25, 2024, recently received a spotlight in the December edition of the State 911 Department’s monthly newsletter.

The newsletter also lauded another South Hadley dispatcher, Joshua Sorensen, for the way he handled a call on Oct. 19, 2024, from two female passengers who said they were locked in a car against their will by a strange man.

“Josh was on the desk alone,” said Lt. David Gagne, who supervises South Hadley’s Emergency 911 Center. “He had other calls coming in, so he had to prioritize. And then once the officers located the vehicle, it became a pursuit because of vehicle would not pull over.”

The women in the vehicle were not familiar with the area, and Sorensen spent a lot of time on the phone simply locating the vehicle by pointing out landmarks and possible street names, while keeping the caller calm.

“What’s great about Josh is he maintains his composure, whether it was high stress or just talking over the phone for a routine call, there is no change in his composure,” Gagne said. “It amazes me when I listen to the recording.”

These three first responders, along with the two other dispatchers who work at the South Hadley center, must juggle a host of responsibilities each shift, from calls for the police department and two fire districts to helping people who walk in to the station to assisting officers with various tasks.

It’s a busy and difficult job, but, as Rodriguez said, each person who answers the phone is dedicated to helping the people of South Hadley and ensuring their safety and security.

“There is so much that they’re responsible for,” Gagne said. “They’re torn in several different ways and they have to perform. What impresses me the most is their ability to multitask at any given time.”

For Rodriguez, dispatch runs in the family. His father was a firefighter and dispatcher in Springfield, and the many afternoons watching his father work inspired Rodriguez to enter into public safety himself. He works full time as a dispatcher and offers his time as an on-call firefighter for Fire District 1.

“Even since my father left dispatch, tons has changed,” Rodriguez said. “The mapping that we have in dispatch is worlds beyond what my father had. He had to rely on what the caller was telling him, whereas I can listen to what the caller tells me, but I can also look at the screen and I’ll know if there’s a discrepancy right away.”

While everyday is different in dispatch, Rodriguez said dispatchers routinely get the same call from the same demographic in town. For instance, icy winter days bring lots of calls regarding motor vehicle accidents or seniors who slipped and fell. Having a local dispatch center, rather than a regionalized one, can be especially useful in these moments, Rodriguez said, because dispatchers know the streets and landmarks that best match the person’s location.

“Here in South Hadley there’s people who have lived here their entire lives and they’ll refer to a certain section of the town by a name that somebody who’s not from here is not going to know, but we do,” he said.

The hardest calls, Rodriguez said, are the ones where he relates to the person on the other end of the phone. It’s difficult to put aside a personal reaction and focus on gathering information, but a rewarding task.

“I like keeping parents calm in emergency involving their children,” he said. “As a parent (myself), that’s a big deal.”

When Gagne started at the department, South Hadley didn’t have enough dispatchers to cover each shift, and their responsibilities have only grown over the course of his career. These first responders, he said, ensure South Hadley’s public safety services provide quality customer services for residents.

Gagne describes Kunasek as articulate, responsible and affable. Her laser focus was key to responding to an incredibly difficult call.

“Jason, Angie and Josh are assets to this department,” Gagne said. “They multitask to a different level with all that’s required of them, so we’re happy to have them and hopefully we always have them.”

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.