The Sound of a Woman Facing Death

I’ve made a decision. If you read my posts last week about the testing I completed for a 911 Operator position, you read that during the testing process I listened to four real-life recordings of calls to 911.

All of the calls were tragic. Heck, one call was from a mother whose two little daughters had just had their throats slit – by their father – and they were hanging on for dear life. But the call that got to me was the one that included the Sound of a Woman Facing Death.

At the very beginning of the call, the woman identified herself and tried to provide her address to the 911 Operator. But the operator interrupted the woman and asked for other information. The woman explained that someone was trying to break into her home. The woman explained that she was elderly. The woman explained that she lived alone. But the operator did not ask the woman for her address. (And this call occurred years ago - before calls made from a landline phone automatically provided the 911 Operator with the address from where the call was placed.) The operator had no idea where the woman lived.

The next thing I heard was the Sound of a Woman Facing Death. I cannot describe it and I will never forget it. The HR Manager had warned us – if we found the calls still bothering us days after hearing them, we most likely were not cut out for the job.

That’s me. Not cut out for the job. Not able to work through that Sound. Not comfortable knowing the woman was attacked and died while on the 911 call.

And there is more to my decision than just that Sound. There is the fact that the job is para-military, with a defined chain of command, and there are aspects that are similar to military service – not something I am crazy about. There is even a 12-week academy! There is the fact that the 911 Operators work varied shifts (depending on seniority) and they are basically on call 24/7. There is the fact that I already have a life and I’m not willing to give that up for a job.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I gave it a shot. And it sure makes me appreciate those people who are 911 Operators. Next time you dial 911 be nice to the operator…he/she may have just heard the Sound of a Woman Facing Death.