Calgary honours 911 operators as call volumes and complexity continue to rise

The City of Calgary is recognizing the vital role of emergency dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, as demand for 9-1-1 services continues to climb across the city.

Emergency Communications Officers (ECOs) working with Calgary 9-1-1 serve as the first point of contact in crisis situations, providing life-saving guidance, gathering critical information and coordinating responses before first responders arrive. Their work supports agencies such as the Calgary Police Service and Calgary Fire Department, as well as regional fire departments across southern Alberta.

The scale of the operation continues to grow alongside Calgary’s population. More than one million emergency and non-emergency calls are handled each year, with 2025 data showing a four per cent increase in total call volume. Incidents requiring police and fire response also rose by five per cent, while regional fire calls jumped by 14 per cent.

Beyond volume, the nature of calls has become increasingly complex. The average time spent handling each call has risen by 10 per cent over the past two years, driven in part by a growing need for language services and multi-agency coordination. Calls requiring interpretation services alone have increased by 10 per cent, often taking significantly longer to manage.

Dispatchers also face intense operational demands, handling thousands of radio transmissions per shift while maintaining situational awareness for responder safety. Support for large-scale public events has also expanded, requiring specialized training and additional staffing. Events such as the Calgary Stampede now require more dispatch resources than in previous years due to increased attendance and operational complexity.

Officials say the rising workload highlights both the importance and the pressure of the role. Despite these challenges, emergency communications teams continue to operate with professionalism and efficiency, ensuring the public is connected to the right services when it matters most.

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week serves as a reminder of the critical but often unseen work performed by 9-1-1 operators, whose efforts play a central role in keeping communities safe every day.

Courtesy: The City of Calgary Newsroom