Three members of the Emergency Communications Team in Brandon were nominated and recognized with a Teamwork award from the Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials (APCO) Canada for an event that occurred in 2019.

Chrystal Strachan, Vanessa Lopez and Megan Keeping were named winners of the Teamwork Award.

Robert Stewart is Director of the public-safety communications centre in Brandon. He points out the staff did an excellent job with a very serious situation.

“On May 29, 2019, at 22:42hrs, aka 10:42 p.m., a “run of the mill” phone call came into the Emergency Communications Centre, but quickly turned into a major emergent situation with a rural police officer having been stabbed multiple times. With potential mayhem in the communication center, Chrystal managed the radio traffic, Vanessa called EMS and other officers out to the scene (while staying on the phone with the injured officer), and Megan answered the 911/Fire calls as well as other rural police phone calls. Chrystal, Vanessa, and Megan all conveyed good judgement, self-control, and effective multitasking in a high-pressured situation. There was excellent communication within the team, they remained calm in the time of chaos, and they showed resilience.”

Stewart points out the call centre handles approximately 440-911 calls per day and about 160,000 calls per year. Staff also handle calls to 190 fire departments in the province and several police departments.