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Under Fire, VITEMA Announces Employment Opportunity for Spanish-Speaking 911 Operators

The Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency said Thursday it's seeking Spanish-speaking employees to work at VITEMA's 911 Emergency Call Centers, in a move aimed at providing quality emergency response service to the territory's rather large Hispanic community — especially on the island of St. Croix. The agency came under fire during a Wednesday Senate hearing where it was revealed that there were no Spanish-speaking employees at the 911 Emergency Call Centers — a revelation that infuriated senators who called on VITEMA to rectify the matter. In its Thursday release, VITEMA sought to clarity the situation. The agency said while it has no Spanish-speaking 911 dispatch operators, it works with the V.I. Police Department and the V.I. Fire Service — local agencies presumably with Spanish-speaking employees — "to provide translation support within minutes of a call," VITEMA said. VITEMA said it expects that Language Line Solutions Inc., a system which provides real-time tr...