#dave morrisey shows up again in the taking of dispatch 911

[readinginthereadyroom]

let’s talk about 911 dispatch for a minute. 

because I’m pretty sure I’ve cracked the blue shirt/maroon shirt code. 

first off. there are multiple dispatch sites. the two divisions we know of in-universe are the downtown parker center and valley communications. 

we also know that abby works at the parker center because she says during her 911 valentine’s day call in heartbreaker (911 1x06). it's emergency dispatcher abby clark, parker center. I'm not on site. now for the shirts. abby and the rest of the dispatchers at the parker center all wear blue uniform shirts during s1. however, when abby calls 911 for buck she specifically requests to be transferred to an emergency medical dispatcher. 

cut to said dispatcher, stephanie gaskins EMD. she’s in a room of dispatchers. who are all wearing maroon. 

do you see the distinction? abby is an emergency dispatcher so she wears blue. stephanie is an emergency medical dispatcher so she wears maroon. and they appear to be separated on separate floors of the downtown parker center. or possibly a third, completely different dispatch site. 

so let’s talk about why, at the start of s2, we start to see the ED and EMDs together. in under pressure (911 2x01) maddie, linda, and 4 other maroon shirt new hires walk onto the call center floor to mix with the veteran dispatchers already there. the blue and maroon shirted dispatchers. with the grey IT shirts (shoutout to terry flores! who's been around since the pilot) also floating around  and offering tech support.

for production purposes it’s obviously because maddie, a former nurse, would wear a maroon shirt. so they mix the ED and EMDs into one floor. 

but for fun headcanon purposes I think it’s all sue blevins. she’s been working at the LA call center since it opened in 1984. she’s one of the original dispatchers. I mean her ID number is 17. that’s a 37 year career.

so it only makes sense that sue would take over the call center after dave morrisey, abby’s first boss, transfers to valley commmunications sometime between worst day ever (911 1x04) and full moon (creepy AF) (911 1x07). she knows the system. knows how to improve the system. I don't know how this place runs without her.

also why she’d bring josh with her. technically, we don’t see him until 7.1 (911 2x02) when he’s training maddie. but we know he has to be there. sue’s the voice that saved his life in the 2008 flashbacks in first responders (911 4x11). and she immediately saw listening and typing skills during his 911 call. but she also saw his dedication to helping others. so she offers him her job. and as she works her way up to the head of the call center. josh works his way up with her. he’s her second in command. pays to be the underboss.

so I’m just gonna headcanon that josh was heading up sue’s project to combine the ED and EMDs during the last few eps of s1. which is why we don’t see him until the project is complete at the beginning of s2. 

it’s also why sue has josh train maddie. he’s not an EMD (blue shirt for josh), but maddie has the same type of potential that josh did. and she sees it. sees that his no-nonsense training will resonate with maddie.

but also. sue treats all her dispatchers like family. throws them baby showers and welcome back parties. she is a parent fgure to them all. I have kids. I have a floor full of 'em. so of course she’s sees the something that is hurt and broken in her kids. the something that josh and maddie are missing. purpose and safety. friends and family. so she takes them under her wing. gives them a place to belong. throws them together during training because she knows they need each other. that they will be friends.

regardless of their backgrounds. their specialties. their shirt colors. blue ED or maroon EMD or even grey IT. they are all a family. because of sue. 

#the maroon shirts have been bothering me since I first watched 911 s2 #also fun fact #dave morrisey shows up again in the taking of dispatch 911 #9-1-1 #sue blevins #josh russo #maddie buckley #linda bates #terry flores