Naperville telecommunicator Mike Rafferty is retiring after 46 years of answering the call of duty (quite literally).
“I’ve really enjoyed being able to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Rafferty.
What is a telecommunicator?
While known by the public as a dispatcher, Rafferty is part of a team of highly trained telecommunicators who work in the city’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC). Telecommunicators dispatch police to approximately 70,000 calls for service, and the fire department to over 18,000 fire or EMS incidents each year.
“He is a critical part in our community’s safety because the first person that somebody deals with when they’re in crisis with our police and fire is our emergency communications personnel,” said Naperville Police Department Chief Jason Arres.
Rafferty’s roots in public service
Rafferty started as a paid on-call firefighter in 1978 for the city of Naperville, a dream come true for him, until he was asked to work as a dispatcher for the Naperville Police Department.
“Being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, I thought, ‘I’m not really leaving my goal path,” said Rafferty. “I’m still part of the fire department, but now I’m also part of the police department.”
At that time, the dispatch center, now the ECC, looked a lot different than it does today.
“We were the first ones in DuPage County to have 9-1-1 here in Naperville,” said Rafferty. “We didn’t have any information on our screen. We just had a telephone, and at that time we dispatched for Warrenville police and fire as well.”
Calm voice among chaos
Over the years, Rafferty has fielded many a phone call, for a wide variety of emergencies. During each call, he gathers essential information quickly and accurately while providing life-saving instructions to callers when needed, prior to first responders arriving.
“Whether it’s a police call and we have to try to deescalate the situation by asking questions, “Are there any weapons? Any injuries?’ Trying to separate parties from each other,” said Rafferty. “Whether it’s a medical call, helping deliver a baby over the phone.”
“It takes a calm voice over the air, when you’re in a crisis, for our police personnel, or for someone calling in, and he’s done that for a long, long time, and we’re really going to miss him,” said Arres.
One call Rafferty says he’ll never forget was early in his career, giving CPR instructions over the phone to a mother of a four-year-old who had fallen into the family’s pool.
“By the time the ambulance arrived on the scene, I could hear the child crying in the background. You don’t know what a good feeling that is,” said Rafferty. “Those kinds of calls are what keep you going and give you the boost through the day and in your career.”
“He left an amazing mark on this department and on this city,” said Arres. “Thanks for serving this community for so long and being so selfless while doing it.”
Hanging up his uniform with great pride
Rafferty’s last day is Friday, May 16. As he looks back on his career, he says there’s one thing he’s most proud of.
“What I’m most proud of is working with the people that I do,” said Rafferty. “As big as the police department, fire department, and dispatch is, you all become part of a family. It’s one team, just a different uniform.”
Upon hanging up his uniform, Rafferty plans to spend more time traveling with his wife.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
