Governor Mike Parsons recently signed Senate Bill 24 into law, recognizing Public Safety Telecommunications and Missouri State Highway Patrol Communications Operators as first responders as well as allowing them access to mental health funding. Telecommunications and communications operators play a role in keeping people safe, including first responders such as firemen and police, with the ability to communicate efficiently. Local Excelsior Springs Police Lieutenant Ryan Dowdy explained dispatchers can tell police how many suspects are at a scene or identify the direction wind is blowing before firemen reach a fire. “Dispatchers also use their communication skills to de-escalate a situation, help move people to safety and sometimes give advice on first aid,” he said. According to Dowdy, dispatchers are mission-critical to the overall function of public safety. “I genuinely don’t know what public safety would look like without that calm voice on the other side of a radio or…