By Matt de Simone
When the phone rings inside Botetourt County’s Emergency Communications Center, there is no such thing as a routine call.
For 911 Dispatcher Adam McDearmon, unpredictability defines the job.
“Well, every day is different,” McDearmon explained. “There is really no such thing as a typical day for us. You never know what kind of call you’re going to get, so that kind of keeps you on your toes.”
McDearmon, who has worked in dispatch since March 2023, came to the role through a longstanding interest in public safety. He previously served as a volunteer firefighter and worked as a student dispatcher while attending Roanoke College before joining the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office.
“I’ve always had an interest in public safety … and being able to help people, being able to give back to my community in a way that helps people,” he noted.
Originally hired as a road deputy in late 2022, McDearmon transitioned into dispatch after an injury interrupted his time at the police academy. What began as a temporary assignment quickly became something more permanent.
“I kind of just liked dispatch a lot more than I thought I would originally,” he recalled.
While many people associate 911 dispatchers primarily with life-or-death emergencies, McDearmon emphasized the reality is far more varied.
“Most days we typically handle a lot of medical calls for our EMS first responders,” he said. “We handle a lot of animal control-related calls. People would probably be surprised to hear that our animal control officers, most days, are typically busier with calls than our road deputies are.”
Dispatchers also field non-emergency calls from residents seeking guidance on everyday issues, as well as repeated calls from individuals they come to know well. The range of calls requires dispatchers to constantly shift gears, sometimes within seconds.
On slower days, the center may be relatively quiet. On others, McDearmon said, “you’re going nonstop and you’re constantly answering the phone, you’re constantly dispatching calls and answering the radio … you just never stop from the time you walk in to the time you leave.”
One of the most critical aspects of the job is managing callers in distress.
“When a call comes in and someone is panicked, first and most, you yourself have to stay calm and try to keep a level head,” McDearmon explained. “You have to do your absolute best to try to get them calmed down enough so that you can get the critical information that we need out of them.”
In some cases, callers are so overwhelmed that communication becomes difficult.
“We’ve dealt with people before who have called in on 911 and they’re so hysterical that they’re just doing nothing but screaming or crying, and we can’t get anything out of them,” he said.
In those moments, reassurance becomes a lifesaving tool.
“Just reassure them that we’re here to help them … but in order for us to be able to help them, they have to take a deep breath and tell us what their address is and give us the information that we need,” he added.
Not every call is easy to forget.
“There have been several calls that have definitely stuck with me,” McDearmon shared. “Some calls, you try to forget due to the critical nature of them.”
But others stand out for a different reason, like when everything works as it should.
He described a call involving a woman who collapsed from cardiac arrest at an Interstate 81 rest area. Off-duty EMTs on scene began CPR while dispatchers coordinated the response.
“Through that collaborative effort of everyone involved … they were able to have a code save on that woman, and she is fortunately still with us today,” McDearmon said.
Photos courtesy of Adam McDearmon
For him, those outcomes define the job.
“The calls that stick out to me are the ones where we are able to create that positive outcome,” he added.
Behind the calm voice on the line is a job that can carry significant emotional weight.
“The mental and emotional toll … you carry a lot of weight with you,” McDearmon acknowledged. “Some of these calls really stick with you.”
The constant demands of the job can also be overwhelming.
“Some days I leave work and I’m so overstimulated … from the phone constantly ringing to the radio constantly going off,” he said. “I’ll drive home in complete silence … just to kind of give my brain some time to decompress.”
To cope, McDearmon pointed to simple routines like exercise or walking his dog after a shift.
“You learn how to deal with the stress and cope with it in healthy ways,” he said.
McDearmon noted one of the biggest misconceptions about dispatchers is that their job lacks intensity.
“There’s probably quite a few people who think that all we do all day is sit around with our feet kicked up and watch TV or Netflix and eat snacks and drink Starbucks all day,” he said.
In reality, the job requires constant multi-tasking, patience and focus.
“It’s a lot harder than most people realize,” he emphasized. “You really have to be able to multi-task. If you’re not good at multi-tasking, this is probably not the job for you.”
When calls are quieter, dispatchers stay engaged by reviewing call logs and staying informed about ongoing situations.
“I’m usually going through CAD and reading the call notes from all of the calls that the previous shifts dealt with,” he explained. “That only improves my situational awareness.”
The team environment also plays a key role. With 12-hour shifts, co-workers often become like family.
“We spend more time with each other than we do our actual families,” McDearmon said.
McDearmon also highlighted a common issue involving confusion about how 911 systems work across jurisdictions.
“A lot of people don’t realize that where you are calling 911 from … you are going to get that local 911 dispatch center,” he said. “We can’t transfer you to another state’s 911 center or a faraway city’s 911 center.”
He further stressed the importance of patience during emergencies.
“We do try to get them help as quickly as we possibly can, but it takes our first responders time,” he explained. “We can’t just snap our fingers and magically make a police car or a fire truck or ambulance appear.”
Despite the stress, McDearmon indicated the job’s rewards outweigh its challenges.
“I would say it’s very rewarding,” he said. “Being able to help [local residents] is very rewarding.”
Whether handling life-threatening emergencies or everyday calls for assistance, the goal remains the same.
“Just the satisfaction of being able to provide help to people is very rewarding,” McDearmon added. “We all genuinely love our jobs. We love what we do.”
For Botetourt County residents, that work continues around the clock, one call at a time.
