Countless people's lives are saved everyday thanks to the efforts of emergency dispatchers.
They're the person on the other end of the phone when you call 9-1-1.
To honor their service, April 10-16 has been named National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
I recently had a chance to talk with Dan Blaszkiewicz, an emergency dispatcher with Huron Valley Ambulance in Ann Arbor.
Blaszkiewicz says his job involves more than just answering the phone.
"We've delivered babies, help with cardiac arrests, try to control bleeding. If somebody's choking, and they don't know the Heimlich maneuver, we help them," Blaszkiewicz says.
He says they also help people with less serious problems like toothaches, and other non-life-threatening emergencies.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
