Dispatch trainee Bella Byers sits at her desk in the call room.

Bella Byers’ voice is calm and level when she picks up the phone. Though training as a 911 dispatcher can be stressful, she knows the person on the other end of the line is often in a far more stressful situation and needs clear communication to get through their call.

Though she always knew she wanted to work in law enforcement, Byers’ introduction to dispatching came through local influences. She had been taking criminal justice classes at Clatsop Community College when her teacher forwarded her the job opportunity at Astoria 911 Dispatch. Intrigued, she applied.

“The whole college was really great in providing references,” Byers said. “All the criminal justice teachers were reaching out and speaking on my behalf. Everyone was really supportive and it ended up working out really well.”

Byers criminal justice classes turned out to be immensely helpful in preparing her for her new role. Skill sets she’d been taught in class, such as crisis intervention, psychology, speech and technical report writing, were immediately applicable. At the college, she also got to know people in law enforcement from other parts of Clatsop County.

“You meet a lot of people,” she said. “I mean, (Warrenton Police) Chief (Mathew) Workman, he teaches a college class. (Police) Chief (Jason) Schermerhorn in Cannon Beach, he teaches classes, too.”

Before she began her training, Byers read the daily press logs that are posted online and was able to familiarize herself with the types of calls and frequency of calls that Astoria dispatch receives.

“It’s a really good place to start,” she said. “And the team here has been amazing. The training — they really put their time into you.”

Dispatchers are tuned in to a county radio and a city radio and answer 911 calls and business line calls. Alongside her trainer, Byers dispatches police, medical personnel and firefighters to Astoria and Warrenton while providing important information to nonemergency callers.

“When you see dispatchers on TV, you see them spending an hour on one person on one call. But, actually, you’re answering business lines, you’re dispatching fire and police, you’re doing a million things at once. When you’re the one person that the entire county is relying on to send them the help they need when they need it, it’s a lot of pressure.”

To keep calm, Byers quickly learned how to prioritize calls depending on the level of emergency. If officers are on a high-priority call, she’ll keep an eye on their status to make sure she isn’t missing a chance to assist.

When she’s off the clock, she de-stresses by cooking and playing the piano. Byers also finds strength in the faith she grew up with in her family. Her father, Kevin Byers, is pastor at Anchor Baptist Church in Astoria.

“Being in dispatch, we hear a lot of the bad,” she said. “Like in law enforcement, you know, they get to follow up and see the good side of things. Firefighters can help people out and feel accomplished. But in dispatch, we kind of just see people at their worst, and then we don’t hear any more about them unless we go back and read the report.

“So when I go to church, I can see the good. I can help people. I can work with my family to help people. I think all dispatchers should have some positive outlet where they can see the good in people and not just hear the bad.”

Byers said one of her favorite parts of dispatch is getting familiar with the different people who make up the network of emergency response.

“Even tow companies, you call them really regularly, or medics — you get used to hearing their dispatchers’ voices, and the officers and the firefighters. I really like that community of working together where they all kind of revolve around dispatch and that’s where all the communication is,” she said. “So I like being that main line of communication.”

Byers is taking the term off to focus on her dispatch training, but she is eager to return to the college to finish her business degree. After that, she plans to transfer to Portland State University for the rest of her criminal justice degree and pursue work in juvenile parole and probation.