LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- 911 operators in Louisville are helping ensure language barriers don't keep callers from getting the help they need.
According to Sara Sparks, a 911 call taker with the city's MetroSafe call center, there is a "language line" which connects to an interpreter.
"[If] English is not (a caller's) first language, and we can find out what their primary language is, we have access to a language line that we can use as a conference call and we -- once we figure out their language -- we connect to them, get to an interpreter. That interpreter will translate everything, including our medical protocols if we have to give any kind of instruction," explained Sparks.
She said using this language line service is necessary every day on the job. According to the data provided, more than three dozen languages were represented in 911 calls in Louisville in 2022, making up more than 7,700 calls.
"We have so many languages that get spoken in this area and not having access to that would make this job even more difficult and take even longer on these calls that we don't have time to do," said Sparks.
Sparks works as a Communications Specialist I, who takes the incoming 911 calls. The Communication Specialists II are the dispatchers who connect with police, fire, or EMS to determine who should respond. Sparks said interpreters can also speak over the phone with first responders on scene if necessary.
"(First responders) can call in and ask to be connected to that language line as well," explained Sparks. "Once they get there and they realize that they're going to need it, police, LMPD actually has their own access to it -- so they don't have to come through us."
Sparks says having this system in place is critical in emergency situations.
According to Louisville's Office for Globalization, there are an estimated 154 languages known to be used in Louisville. Sparks says she has never run into a situation where the language line did not have an interpreter available to help someone calling 911.
Sparks also recommends downloading the Smart911 app, which allows people to share medical, household, or personal information, including primary language, that could be helpful to call centers if a 911 call is made.
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