911 dispatchers working from home: Could it come to the Triangle?

More 911 dispatchers are working remotely from home.

In an unassuming co-working space in Person County, Conrad Shadel is answering 911 calls and dispatching police, fire and EMS -- thousands of miles away.

It's not something he ever thought would be possible in his industry. But after several years working as a 911 call taker in the Pacific Northwest, his agency was spearheading an effort to allow its employees to work remotely. He jumped on the opportunity to take advantage of it.

"My family just loved [North Carolina]," Shadel explained. "It's always been a wonderful place for us to visit, and go on vacation. We used to have family that lived here in the Triangle area."

Nationally and locally, 911 centers continue to struggle to recruit employees.

As of March 8, 21% of the call taker/dispatcher positions in the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center are vacant, according to a city spokesperson.

In Fayetteville, 36% of the telecommunicator positions were vacant as of that date, according to a spokesperson, and in Durham, 28% were, according to data provided by the city.

WRAL News has covered numerous instances in which people in Durham said they could not quickly get through to 911 during an emergency, including a woman who recently discovered the car at the center of an Amber Alert, and another person trying to report a child who had been shot.

"I tried calling a while ago," the caller said, according to the audio recording obtained by WRAL Investigates through a public records request. "It just kept ringing. Is everything OK?"

Durham Mayor Leo Williams said he would be interested in pursuing remote working opportunities for Durham 911 employees, but, due to network security and privacy concerns, that is not an option right now.

"I think that ultimately we may evolve to these other options, of workplace, being able to do sensitive work at workplaces at home as well as in the office, but as for right now, it is what it is," he said.

WRAL Investigates asked the state's 911 board if it would support local agencies allowing remote dispatchers.

In a statement, a spokesperson wrote:

"The Board continues to explore safe and reliable options that can improve the state’s 911 system. However, the Board does not have the authority to make personnel decisions for public safety answering points, which are operated by and under the jurisdiction of counties and other local government entities."

Shadel said his set-up in Person County is just as it was in the Pacific Northwest -- so much so that callers are unaware he's so far away. His agency uses a software from Hexagon.

Bill Campbell, Senior Vice President of the Americas for Hexagon, said remote dispatching is increasing in popularity, as it provides a better work-life balance.

"It is gaining traction," he said.

While working from a co-working space now, Shadel ultimately plans to work from home, once internet is up and running at his new home in Person County.

He can't recommend the arrangement strongly enough.

"I really think this is the next step in this industry," he said.