“911, what is the location of your emergency?”

Chances are, you’ve heard that question after calling the phone number that has become synonymous with “help!”

Nationally, about 240 million 911 calls are placed each year, and nearly every American will call 911 at least once or twice in their lifetime.

I’ve worked in the justice system for more than 25 years — as a defense attorney, an assistant prosecutor, and now as a judge.

Over the course of that career, I’ve had occasions to accompany police officers on a ride-along, observing firsthand the performance of their duties.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go on a “sit-along” in an emergency dispatch center — CCE Central Dispatch, covering three northern Michigan counties (Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet), which handles more than 150,000 calls each year.

What an eye-opening experience it was!

The dispatch center has several stations, or “desks.” On the day I was there, three desks were staffed, each primarily dispatching for one county and equipped with five computer monitors, three keyboards, a backup system (consisting of a hardline phone and handheld radio), and, most importantly, a dispatcher.

Those intrepid souls must be able to multitask, communicate compassionately but efficiently with the public, interface with every emergency and non-emergency public service in the region, and maintain their composure no matter what is happening on the other end of the call.

As best I could tell, there were three vital tasks being performed by the dispatchers.

First, they have to take 911 calls and help the caller, determining which services should be dispatched and advising the caller on what to do until they arrive. Sometimes, that involves walking a caller through first aid in a life-and-death situation. Other times, it involves encouraging a suicidal person not to give up.

Second, they have to dispatch the services needed to respond to the situation — whether law enforcement, ambulance, fire department, utility companies, search-and-rescue, animal control, dive team, or many others. As part of that process, dispatchers also obtain important information about the parties involved, like driving records and criminal history, to communicate to responding agencies on the fly.

Third, they have to keep meticulous records of everything happening, including accurate timestamps, for future use if a civil or criminal case arises out of the situation.

Each one of those tasks requires careful attention to detail in a fast-moving environment dealing with fluid situations.

But what was most remarkable was that each of the dispatchers was performing all three tasks simultaneously throughout their 12-hour shift.

They also have to listen to what is happening with the other desks to help each other as systems become overwhelmed.

So it wasn’t three individuals working three separate counties, but it was truly a team approach.

Many varied things happened during the shift I observed.

Dispatchers helped police locate a suicidal person before that person could harm themselves, talked callers through emergency medical situations ranging from seizures to a child not breathing, gave police officers important information in the middle of traffic stops, and helped with animal issues, from stray dogs to rabid or injured wildlife to the proverbial cat stuck in a tree.

They dispatched emergency services to multiple accidents, ranging from fender benders to serious injuries — sometimes paging out four to five agencies to a single accident — and helped facilitate transfers between medical centers and sent the necessary help when someone accidentally cut a gas line before disaster could result.

The dispatchers took calls involving domestic disputes or violence, drunk or reckless driving, and disputes between neighbors. They handled calls from building alarm and medical alert companies, regularly checked on their officers to ensure their safety, and took several hang-up calls or open lines, each of which required significant effort to follow up to see whether there was an emergency.

The emotions of the callers ranged from scared to annoyed to confused to uncooperative.

But each of the callers was treated with professionalism and as much courtesy as an emergency environment allows.

Lots of those situations happened at the same time, too, requiring maximal teamwork from our three dispatchers, who remained calm, cool, and collected throughout the chaos.

In short, I was definitely impressed.

Those dispatchers are unsung heroes, helping all of us through our scariest moments and sending us the help we need.

So, if you call 911, try to answer their questions clearly and directly. And do your best to know your location. They are trying to get information fast to make the best decisions about how to help.

And breathe a prayer of gratitude for those guardians upon whom we all depend.

And, if you are able to multitask and have a heart to help, consider applying to your local emergency dispatch center. They are in need of more heroes.

Oh, by the way, that “sit-along” day that I found to have an overwhelming amount of information?

They told me that it was a slow one.

Aaron J. Gauthier is chief judge of the 53rd Circuit Court serving Cheboygan and Presque Isle counties.