A new audio series is shining a spotlight on the inner workings of 000 calls and the brave men and women on both ends of the phone.
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'I am 000' is a new podcast that has been launched by the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA), featuring audio from real 000 calls and highlighting what needs to be done in emergency situations.
The first episode was released this week, featuring the story of how two young boys, Monte and Casper, aged five and seven respectively, helped their father after he collapsed to the ground and suffered multiple seizures.
Show host Tania Willett said the aim of the podcast is to help the community understand what needs to be done in an emergency situation.
"We hope the podcast will provide an important community education channel and give people an opportunity to know what to expect when they call 000," she said.
"It also highlights the importance of how callers and call takers work together in an emergency as well as showing how our operators work as one with emergency service workers."
It shows how challenging these situations can be for callers and for call takers.
- 'I am 000' host Tania Willett
While the audio can be at times confronting, Ms Willett said it is necessary as it shows a real depiction of how these situations can be.
"It allows listeners to understand what really goes on behind a 000 call," she continued.
"Some people think they just need to call 000 and give the location, however there's a lot of things that happen behind the scenes.
"It shows how challenging these situations can be for callers and for call takers. I suppose we hope it highlights the role of the call taker and the role of the caller; for instance how callers can help before crews arrive."
She added the agency has already received praise for the first of its five episodes, adding more could be on the way and asking community members to share their 000 stories.
"We've had some very supportive feedback already. We've also had a lot of people thank those individuals who have shared their stories.
"We have an initial five episodes that we're looking to roll out once per week. We want the community to share their stories and their 000 experiences."
The next episode is scheduled for early next week.
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