First responders try to bridge language barrier in emergencies

UNDATED - The Georgia Public Safety Training Center offers a three-day class to teach public safety officers basic commands in Spanish.

Peach County Deputy Sheriff Shane Broome was among those taking a class recently at a location in Fort Valley in middle Georgia. Broome says later that his inability to speak with the man Hispanics who don't speak English that he stops while patrolling Interstate 75 has been a problem.

He hopes the traffic stops will go smoother after the class. He plans to keep his textbook -- with its translations for everything from ``windshield wiper'' to ``drop that weapon'' in his patrol car.

Every day, emergency responders and law enforcement officers nationwide help non-English speaking people whose lives might be in immediate danger. The job is particularly challenging for small agencies in the South, which has seen a recent influx of Hispanic residents.

Agencies in Gainesville and Hall County are no exception. With one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the state, EMTs, sheriff's deputies, police officers, firefighters, and emergency dispatch personnel come in contact daily with non-English speaking people. "Language barrier" is a common phrase heard on scanner traffic involving these agencies - and many times a criminal investigation is slowed when officers run into a language barrier while interviewing witnesses, etc.

Gainesville fire chief Dick Taylor said responders dealing with people who speak a different language is a fact of life, and this sort of training is essential.

"It is one of those facts," he said. "That if you are going to provide the service, you are going to have to speak the language."

Taylor added the Gainesville FD has two Spanish speaking firefighters on staff.

Sheriff's Major Jeff Strickland said the Hall County Sheriff's Office has several deputies and jail guards that are fluent in Spanish and they are utilized when there is a language barrier.

Caroline Pera of the Hall County dispatch center says they are contracted with BellSouth to use The Language Line, a service that puts dispacthers in touch with some who can speak any requested language.

All three are in support of the bi-lingual training at the Public Saftey Center.