A female 9-1-1 dispatcher in southwest Iowa has been fired after failing to answer emergency calls earlier this month. Tom Ling, director of Mills County Communications, says calls were left unanswered beginning at 4:15 A.M. on October 6th. Ling says law enforcement became aware of the situation after someone who couldn’t reach 9-1-1 in Mills County and decided to call the Pottawattamie County Communications Center, where a dispatcher also tried to reach Mills County.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office finally reached the dispatcher, she paged the Glenwood Fire and Rescue squad, who responded to a woman who was suffering from chest pain. The woman ended-up being taken to Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. Specific information about why the dispatcher did not answer calls for 30 minutes has not been released, but Ling said the incident which resulted the woman’s termination was investigated, and the county is in the process of hiring a replacement dispatcher.

The Mills County Communications Center usually has a staff of seven, but the resignation of another dispatcher has reduced that number to five. Ling says he intends to fill the two open dispatcher positions, by mid-November.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

A police officer in eastern Iowa says she was just doing her job, but what she did saved a baby’s life. Anamosa Police Officer Amy Ford was presented with a special award Thursday for her actions on February 14th of this year. On that day, Ford responded to a 9-1-1 call from Crystal Covington. Covington reported her eight-day old son, Kayden, wasn’t breathing. Ford was the first on the scene.

“I took him in my arms and he fit right between my wrist and my elbow and there was no movement out of him,” Ford recalled. “I tried to remain calm, but inside, also being a new mother, I was just frightened.” At the time, Ford had a six-month-old at home. She used her training and gave the listless infant rescue breaths. Covington says Kayden might not be alive today if not for the officer’s actions and the fact the police station is only two blocks from her home.

“She played a huge role, we really think that even if she wouldn’t have been on the same street, he probably wouldn’t have made it,” Covington said. At the time of the 9-1-1 call, Anamosa’s ambulance was on a run out of town. Neighboring help from Monticello didn’t arrive until 25 minutes later. Ford says she appreciates the life-saving award from the city, but says the real reward is seeing Kayden alive and healthy.

“Never would I have thought just doing my job would bring out a recognition like this,” Ford said. Before February 14, Ford and Covington didn’t know each other. Now, they visit at least once a week.

Contributed by Justin Foss, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids