Admired Tioga County Dispatcher retires

The Tioga County Sheriff’s Office congratulates Sgt. Steve DuVarney for his 32 years of service to the citizens of Tioga County. DuVarney’s retirement was effective June 26.

A majority of DuVarney’s employment career was in the Emergency 911 Communications Center. It was in the role as Chief Public Safety Dispatcher where DuVarney took pride in his work to improve emergency communications while watching it continuously evolve amidst changing technology.

A 1975 graduate of Owego Free Academy, DuVarney’s resume also includes working as a guard at the jail in the early 1980’s, and also in a security position at the former HADCO Corporation. DuVarney has given back to the community in other ways, too, such as his involvement with the Owego Fire Department for 45 years, including the emergency squad, and where you may have seen him umpiring Owego Little League games back in the day.

Tioga County Sheriff Gary W. Howard remarked, “I thank Sgt. DuVarney for his dedication and years of hard work,” and added that DuVarney’s steady demeanor and take-charge approach ensured that he and the team were always ready.

The Emergency 911 Communications Center is the hub for all emergency services in the county. The center is staffed with as many as 12 dispatchers, is F.C.C. Phase II compliant, and offers the capability to receive and identify the location of incoming emergency calls made from a standard telephone as well as can pinpoint a cell phone caller’s position within 300 meters.

From the hub, emergency communications are executed for Sheriff Patrols, State Police, Environmental Conservation Police, and the Owego and Waverly Police Departments. And not just those, but add on 14 emergency squads and first responder units, 15 fire departments, the county fire investigation and hazmat teams, county search and rescue, and the medivac helicopter. 

The center also partners with various agencies such as Tioga County Mental Health, Public Health, Social Services, Municipal Highway Department and Animal Control, among others, to provide a round-the-clock link after regular business hours.   

The scope of the system is vast, and as for the dispatcher role itself, DuVarney remarked, “It’s not just answering a phone behind a desk.”

DuVarney explained, “There are two constant companions on this job, and that is your fellow dispatchers, and then the stress of it all.”

“The job itself is a calling, and you have to be able to handle the stress,” DuVarney said, adding, “It takes a special and unique person to do that job.”

One fond memory, DuVarney said, was having helped deliver several babies via the 911 line.

The dispatchers, DuVarney commented, have to be poised at all times to field upwards of hundreds of calls, and each one of them different, from deescalating situations where callers are irate or in distress, or to guide individuals as they perform CPR until medical help arrives. Certain situations require handling multiple dispatches simultaneously, such as concentrated efforts during the Flood of 2011 when 12 to 16 hour shifts became the norm, and all to ensure critical needs were met for public safety.

DuVarney gives credit to the Tioga County team of dispatchers for their contributions, and noted that encompasses three shifts daily, as well as weekends and holidays. He remarked, “They are all fantastic.”

In the early 911 days when the system was brand new to the county, ironing out the bugs and educating the public on what is deemed an emergency call took time and patience. DuVarney recalled a story about an older woman who dialed 911 during his shift to ask if she should call a plumber about a toilet issue.

DuVarney chuckled, “There is not an ordinary day in this line of work.”  

The Tioga County Emergency 911 Communications Center is accredited by the NYS Public Answering Point Accreditation Council. DuVarney has worked diligently to keep the program standards active, and Tioga County is one of a few counties in that exclusive group. In turn, the accreditation results in enhanced, cost-effective quality of service. DuVarney plans to return to the center to assist his successor in completing this year’s accreditation.

Going forward, DuVarney said he will set aside time for activities at the V.F.W. and American Legion, and is also on board to work occasionally at the center for dispatchers who are out ill or on vacation. Otherwise, he looks forward to enjoying retirement as it comes, day-by-day.