One Dispatcher, Two Lines: An Infant Not Breathing and a Break-In

Line 1 wins on time-criticality. A 5-week-old in respiratory or cardiac arrest has minutes; a burglary suspect outside a store is a property crime with a violence risk but not a countdown.

First 30 seconds:

1. Get the address and a callback number from the mother, and confirm the baby's age and whether the baby is awake and breathing. Interrupt the screaming with calm, direct questions.
2. Page EMS and the 6-minute deputy to the infant address; dispatch the 15-minute deputy to the store, and tell the clerk to move to a back room or out of the line of sight, stay on the line, and not confront the man.
3. Put line 2 on a short hold with a specific statement: 'Stay on the line, I am coming back, do not hang up.' Take the clerk's callback number first in case the line drops.
4. Request the adjoining county dispatcher to take the radio patch so you can stay on line 1 for CPR instructions.

Reasoning: the sequence reflects priority - life first, property second - but it also reflects the second principle: never abandon a caller without a callback number. Taking the store clerk's number costs four seconds; losing the call costs the deputy a suspect and a witness.

Follow the protocol card - your medical director's version governs over memory. The structure:

1. Confirm the baby is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Have the mother lay the infant on a firm, flat surface, not a bed or couch.
2. Open the airway with a slight head tilt, and give two rescue breaths covering the mouth and nose, just enough to see the chest rise.
3. Begin compressions: two fingers or two thumbs with hands encircling the chest, on the lower half of the breastbone, about one-third the depth of the chest (roughly 1.5 inches), at 100–120 per minute, allowing full recoil.
4. Single rescuer: 30 compressions to 2 breaths. Minimize interruptions.
5. Stay on the line until EMS arrives and the crew takes over. Ask about a possible choking event, recent feeding, and whether the baby has been ill.

Errors to correct in real time:

• Compressions too low or too deep, risking liver injury.
• Blowing too hard, which inflates the stomach and causes vomiting.
• Adult abdominal thrusts - for an infant, back slaps and chest thrusts.
• Pausing to look for a pulse or to unlock a door while the clock runs.

Keep your voice steady. The mother's compliance depends on whether she believes you know what you are doing.

Line 2 dropping is predictable and is exactly why you took a callback number first. As soon as the CPR call reaches a stable point - ideally the moment EMS is en route and the mother has a rhythm going - call the clerk back, confirm the store address and whether the man is still outside, and give instructions to stay locked in a back room. Alert the responding deputy through the adjoining county patch that the clerk may not be reachable by phone.

Documentation for the after-action review:

• Time of each call's arrival, the exact hold language used on line 2, and how long the hold lasted.
• Times EMS and both deputies were dispatched, and the time the patch was requested.
• Every instruction given to the mother, and the CPR compression start time.
• The point at which line 2 dropped and the call-back result.

After-action issues that matter:

1. Staffing. One telecommunicator for two simultaneous life-safety events is a policy problem, not a performance problem - escalate it in writing.
2. The patch agreement. Confirm in writing that the adjoining county will take radio traffic, because you relied on an informal offer.
3. Telecommunicator wellness. A pediatric call and an abandoned line in the same five minutes is a stress event; ask for a debrief.