At 4:17 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2007, Scott Dunkelberger received a 9-1-1 call from a frantic 15-year-old girl reporting a house fire sparked from an unattended candle that was trapping her and three siblings inside a second floor bedroom. The smoke was so thick breathing was difficult. She was very frightened.

Dunkelberger, a dispatcher from New County Castle Emergency Communications (Del.), took action. Following Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) Pre-Arrival Instructions (PAIs), he instructed her to shut the door and seal the doorway with clothing to block the smoke. He kept the teen on the phone, calming and reassuring her, until firefighters were on the scene and, with his help, locate and rescue the children without injury.

NAED Associate Director Carlynn Page, who presented Dunkelberger with the 2008 Dispatcher of the Year Award from the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (NAED) at the annual Navigator conference held April 23-25 in Baltimore, Md., said from listening to the call, she was confident that Dunkelberger’s actions saved the day.

“It would have been a far different outcome had it been for Scott’s ability to remain calm and deliver the protocol in its prescribed manner,” she said.

But it wasn’t only me, Dunkelberger insisted after the presentation.

“I work with a great group of guys, and for me to get the award without them here, well, it’s hard,” he said. “We work together. I’m accepting this for all of them.”

Dunkelberger is from a long line of family members involved in emergency services and he has volunteered as a firefighter since age 16. At age 19, he landed his first dispatch position with the Delaware State Police and after nearly six years there, he accepted a job at his current agency.

Although he has told his wife that he’s on a two-year plan, things just don’t work out that way. He can’t seem to let go and it is calls like the house fire that keep him coming back for more.

“I can affect a positive outcome, and that keeps me going,” he said. “That keeps me enjoying the work I do. There are hard calls, like the baby who dies from SIDS, but than we get the calls, like this one, when everything just falls perfectly into place.”

The Dispatcher of the Year Award recognizes the NAED certified dispatcher who has made the most significant contributions to further the values and mission of the Academy through personal action, which includes expertise in accurately following protocol when used in an extraordinary situation.

The National Academy can be reached at www.emergencydispatch.org or 800-960-6236.