KENNEBUNK – She has helped a family perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation – by phone – after their baby fell into a swimming pool, dispatched firefighters and paramedics and police officers to thousands of calls over the years,  and breathed a sigh of relief whenever her shift went well, and  everyone went home safe.

People who call for assistance from first responders – whether they are a homeowner reporting a burglary, require emergency medical services or are a first responder sharing information or calling for back up – all communicate with dispatchers to relay information.

In Kennebunk, one of the voices folks have heard for many years has been the calm, measured tones of Sharon Phillips, asking questions to ascertain the nature of the emergency so she can dispatch the most appropriate response. Sometimes, she provides emergency medical dispatching, issuing instructions on how to administer measures that can save a life and buy time until EMS arrives. Of those times was when she instructed a family how to administer CPR after their  baby fell into a swimming pool; the child survived.

At the same time, she and other dispatchers on duty may be keeping track of police officers, providing information to them about wanted subjects, or carefully monitoring a situation when danger is afoot.

It is a job she has been doing for the better part of 36 years, and since 2008 for Sanford Regional Communications Center, which provides services to 11 fire and rescue departments and five police agencies in York County, including Kennebunk.  She and other others monitor 12 channels, plus back-up, as well as answer calls. The center receives more than 100,000 calls for service annually, and 22,000 separate 911 calls, she estimated.

On Wednesday, Sept, 29, she retired, a bit earlier than she planned, due to some ongoing medical issues.

“I love this job,” said Phillips on a recent day. “I love helping people.”

She worries about the police officers and firefighters, whose jobs can be dangerous.

She remembers the night when she heard an officer’s voice on the radio – she knew he was on a foot patrol, and could tell by his voice that he was in trouble. He was found, badly beaten, behind a Sanford retail store.

“That always stayed with me,” she said.

She remembers the day in 1987 that Lebanon Police officer Jeffrey Bull died in the line of duty, killed in a crash while he was assisting another police agency involved in a chase. The suspect’s’ vehicle struck Bull’s car, and then landed on it, killing the officer.

“That was devastating,” she said.

Phillips became a dispatcher in 1986. She had previously been a police cadet and joined Sanford Police, but took a step back when her children were born, later taking a job in security. She saw an ad for York County Communications, thought it sounded interesting, and became a dispatcher.

It was an era before computers made checking for license suspensions and similar tasks nearly instantaneous. Requests for that sort of information were made by teletype – and if a call came in while the request was being made, the dispatcher had to start over at the conclusion of the call. Calls for service were typed on a typewriter, with four carbons, she recalled.

Computers have helped speed the process, and cut down on the stacks of paperwork,  but the job is essentially the same as when she started.

“We dispatchers strive to do it all as quickly as possible while multi-tasking calls for service and requests by the public and our users,” she said.

As she talked about leaving, she thought about the nature of the job she has done for so long, and its attributes.

“The job is very gratifying when you make a difference,” she said, citing situations like being able to provide help when an individual contemplating self-harm or someone is in a domestic violence situation.

And for Phillips, another important priority stands out.

“I have always believed an officer must go home safely on my watch,” she said.

Sanford Regional Communications Center Director Bill Tower said Phillips will be missed.

“She’s done a great job, she comes in and works hard,” he said.

“She’ll be missed because of the experience she brought to the table,” said Kennebunk Police Chief Robert MacKenzie. “We will definitely miss her.”

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