Henry Bailey, The Commercial Appeal

Memphis, Tenn. — Aprill Renfroe won’t forget the first suicide-attempt call she received as an emergency dispatcher for Hernando in June 2009, about 8 p.m.

“He called from out in the county, and before long we were on a first-name basis,” she recalled. “He didn’t want the call transferred to the county because we’d established a relationship. We talked for 30 minutes.”

By then, first-response teams she summoned had arrived for the man at the address Renfroe carefully gleaned from their life-or-death conversation.

“You can’t cut people short in a situation like that,” she said. “His call was a cry for help, and my job was to get help to him.”

“She knows her stuff,” said her boss, communications Capt. Jeny Black.

And so do others who shared awards Wednesday from the DeSoto E-911 Emergency District office marking National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

Along with Renfroe, recognition went to dispatchers Cynthia Vaughn of Southaven, Toya Allison of Olive Branch and Daffy Darby of Horn Lake. Also, DeSoto Sheriff’s Department dispatchers were honored collectively.

“This is our day to recognize these unsung heroes of the emergency-service world,” said Debby Dunnaway , E-911 district director.

“They’re the front-line people in a fire, police call or disaster who don’t get their name on the front page,” she said. “And a lot of the time, they never even learn the result of the help they sent.”

DeSoto Emergency Services chief Bobby Storey and fellow E-911 Commissioner Jerry McCarson of Walls made the presentations. Storey said it was high-caliber information from dispatchers that best armed him when he answered calls to seek out a dangerous suspect or deal with a disaster.

“My life is in your hands,” he told the dispatchers, “and I can’t thank you enough. You made my career.”

Vaughn – a dispatcher for 15 years, five with Southaven – was lauded by her supervisor, Deborah Golden.

“She played a big part in arrests last month in Tupelo that broke up a multistate burglary ring,” Golden said.

Auto license-tag data relayed by Vaughn helped steer officers the right way.

Dispatchers listen for crucial details “and keep things organized,” Vaughn said.

Renfroe noted that children somehow seemed to handle calls better – “they’re usually calm. But it’s sad to hear from a child.”

Emergencies vary, dispatchers say, but they’re always serious to the caller.

Allison, taking calls for 6 1/2 years at Olive Branch, said: “The other night, while we were swamped – juvenile offenses, shoplifting and other things going on – this lady calls and says because water’s been draining into her yard from her neighbors’ yards, her dog is all wet and she needs a policeman to come.

“I hung up and I just had to laugh.”

She also had to take it seriously. “An officer was sent,” Allison said.

Renfroe puts it this way: “I always put myself in the caller’s situation. I’d want to know I was getting help. I like helping people, and that’s why I love my job. Knowing I’m getting them help – that’s my award.”

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