Two Louisville 911 heroes just got the recognition they deserve

Two of our very own Louisville dispatchers just received a first-of-its-kind award for going way above and beyond the call of duty.

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Every single day, Louisville's MetroSafe telecommunicators are here handling whatever crisis comes their way. They're the first voice people hear in their worst moments, and they're trained to stay calm when everyone else is falling apart. But today, two of those local heroes are being celebrated for an act of kindness outside of our community.

"They were telling us they were like, be prepared to have no food, little to no shelter, no electricity," Justin Bagby said, "ok, we'll figure this out, because we want to be there, we had to go to be able to help them."

When North Carolina needed help, Louisville answered

Almost exactly a year ago, when Hurricane Helene tore through North Carolina, two MetroSafe 911 dispatchers packed their bags and headed south to help. Justin Bagby, a MetroSafe supervisor, and Kimberly Sweazy, a 911 dispatcher, volunteered through the Kentucky Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (KY TERT) to spend two weeks in Buncombe County's 911 center.

"Everything was gone, the roads were wiped out, buildings were collapsed, and cars were upside down. There was just nothing, no electricity, debris everywhere, Bagby said, "So it was, it was very scary."

They were handling emergency calls and dispatch operations for a community that had been absolutely devastated by the hurricane. The local dispatchers there had been working non-stop since the storm hit, and our Louisville team stepped in so those folks could finally take a breath, check on their families, and deal with their own storm damage.

"The first three days I took calls, I just remember them being so different because they were like, there's a bear in my front yard, or somebody said there was a bunch of black leopards in theirs," Sweazy remembered, "but most of it was just people crying that they had lost everything."

While Sweazy answered 911 calls, Bagby dispatched EMS crews. He was unfamiliar with the Asheville area, as were the crews who were also in town to relieve local first responders. "So not only do I not know their system very well, not know the area at all, but the people in dispatching also didn't know the area. So it was, it was very challenging," he said.

Despite the long hours, tough conditions, and heartbreaking stories, both first responders say they would do it again.

A first-of-its-kind honor

Last week at the Kentucky Emergency Services Conference, Bagby and Sweazy received the very first award of its kind from KY TERT. That's right- they made history just by being the kind of people who show up when others need help.

Bagby said he was sitting in the conference listening to the presentation when they started talking about his trip, and then mentioned his name. "We're going to give this award," Bagby remembered, "then they said my name, and I was like, what is happening? I was very caught off guard but so honored."

What they saw will stay with them forever

Both dispatchers came back with stories that'll give you faith in humanity. Sure, they saw devastating destruction, but they also witnessed something beautiful: a community coming together in ways that would make your heart swell.

"It was beautiful to see strangers helping strangers, people that had food and water sharing everything they had with people that had nothing," Sweazy shared. "We saw people set up on the main road grilling food and giving it to anyone that needed it, in addition to churches and other organizations helping with deliveries of water, food, and clothes."

Why this matters to all of us

Here's the thing- when disaster strikes anywhere, it could just as easily be us needing help. Having dispatchers like Bagby and Sweazy means our city isn't just looking out for ourselves. We're part of a bigger network of people who have each other's backs when things get really bad.

Angela Downes, MetroSafe 911 Assistant Director, put it perfectly: "By assuming call-taking and dispatch responsibilities, our team allowed those local professionals the opportunity to regroup, care for their families, and address personal needs- without compromising the continuity of emergency services."

That's what good neighbors do. That's what Louisville does.

The quiet heroes among us

Bagby and Sweazy remind us that sometimes being a hero means packing up and helping strangers hundreds of miles away, simply because it's the right thing to do.

The award is nice, but honestly? Both dispatchers say that wasn't why they went. They went because people needed help, and they had the skills to provide it. In a world that sometimes feels pretty divided, that kind of simple human decency is exactly what we need more of.

So the next time you see a MetroSafe vehicle around town, maybe give them a little wave. Because you never know- those might be the same folks who'd drop everything to help complete strangers rebuild their lives after a hurricane.

That's Louisville for you. That's who we are.

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