CritiCall Dispatcher Test Call Handling 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which piece of information should a dispatcher obtain FIRST when answering a 911 call?
- The caller's name
- The location of the emergency (Correct answer)
- The caller's phone number
- A description of the suspect
Correct answer: The location of the emergency
Location is the most critical first piece of information because it determines where to send help. Everything else is secondary.
Emergency dispatchers are trained to obtain the location first because if the call drops, they still know where to send help. Name, phone number, and details are important but secondary to ensuring units can navigate to the correct address.
Question 2: A caller describes chest pain and difficulty breathing in a 70-year-old. What type of call is this classified as?
- Non-emergency medical call
- Priority 1 life-threatening medical emergency (Correct answer)
- Priority 3 routine welfare check
- Mental health crisis
Correct answer: Priority 1 life-threatening medical emergency
Chest pain and breathing difficulty in an elderly person are classic cardiac/respiratory emergency indicators classified as Priority 1.
These symptoms strongly suggest a myocardial infarction or serious respiratory event. In standard EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatch) protocols, this combination triggers immediate Priority 1 ALS (Advanced Life Support) response with the fastest available unit.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of reading an incident report back to the caller for confirmation?
- To comply with call recording laws
- To verify accuracy and correct any errors before dispatching units (Correct answer)
- To give the caller time to calm down
- To transfer the call to a supervisor
Correct answer: To verify accuracy and correct any errors before dispatching units
Reading back confirms key details are accurate. Errors caught at this stage prevent misdirected or improperly resourced responses.
The read-back technique is a quality control step. By repeating the address, nature of the emergency, and key descriptors to the caller, the dispatcher catches any misheard or incorrectly entered details before units are sent. A single digit error in an address can delay response by critical minutes.
Question 4: A caller requests an ambulance for a non-life-threatening situation while a simultaneous caller reports an active shooting. How should you prioritize?
- Handle both calls with equal urgency
- Complete the ambulance call first since it came in first
- Immediately handle the active shooting call while flagging the ambulance call for the next available dispatcher (Correct answer)
- Transfer both calls to supervisors
Correct answer: Immediately handle the active shooting call while flagging the ambulance call for the next available dispatcher
Active threats to life supersede non-life-threatening calls. Priority triage requires assigning the most urgent resource immediately.
Dispatch centers use a triage model. An active shooting is a mass-casualty potential event requiring immediate law enforcement response. A non-urgent ambulance request can be safely queued or transferred without endangering the requester. Simultaneously logging both calls prevents the second from being lost.
Question 5: What does it mean when a dispatch center uses 'CAD' (Computer-Aided Dispatch)?
- A digital radio system for officer communication
- Software that automates the logging, prioritizing, and routing of emergency calls and units (Correct answer)
- A caller identification system for 911 calls
- An automated call answering machine
Correct answer: Software that automates the logging, prioritizing, and routing of emergency calls and units
CAD systems are core tools in modern dispatch centers, automating call logging, unit tracking, and response routing.
Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) software captures caller information, auto-populates address data from ANI/ALI systems, assigns priority levels, recommends available units, and logs all actions in real time. Dispatchers use CAD to manage multiple incidents simultaneously without paper-based tracking.
Question 6: A dispatcher receives a call from a child who seems frightened but cannot clearly describe the situation. What is the BEST response?
- Hang up if the child cannot provide usable information
- Ask simple yes/no questions to gather basic information and immediately dispatch units to the address (Correct answer)
- Transfer the call to child services
- Ask the child to get an adult before continuing
Correct answer: Ask simple yes/no questions to gather basic information and immediately dispatch units to the address
Child callers require adapted questioning. Using yes/no questions extracts critical information while keeping the child calm, and location data from the call can trigger immediate dispatch.
Dispatchers are trained to modify their approach with child callers. Simple, direct yes/no questions ('Are you at home right now? Is someone hurting you?') can reveal the nature of the emergency. Meanwhile, ANI/ALI data provides the address, allowing dispatch of units even with limited verbal information.
CritiCall Dispatcher Test Call Handling 3
Which piece of information should a dispatcher obtain FIRST when answering a 911 call?