Living Lifeline

Michael Sherman, shift supervisor at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communication Center, says the role of a 9-1-1 dispatcher is to know what to listen for. “You train your brain to hear the things you need to hear, and ignore the things you don’t need to know,” he said. Approaching emergencies in this way means that callers will get the help they need as soon as possible. (Photo by Nikki Fox / DN-R)