The Missouri Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (MOAPCO) is pleased to recognize Telecommunicator Marleen Maupin and Telecommunicator Chris “Sparky” Sharp of Springfield-Greene County as Missouri Teammates in Action!
On October 20, 2021, Telecommunicator Marleen Maupin took the initial call from a woman trapped in a fully involved burning house. Telecommunicator Maupin quickly initiated a fire response and calmly reassured the caller that help was on the way while encouraging her to find a window or door to escape. The caller found a window air conditioner as the smoke reduced her visibility to near zero. Telecommunicator Maupin was able to get her to that location and get the air conditioner out of the window. The woman tried to climb out of the window but became stuck.
At approximately the same time, Telecommunicator Chris Sharp took a second call from an Amazon delivery driver who was in the area to report the same house fire. After conferring with Maupin and learning of the female resident’s entrapment, he suggested to the delivery driver that he make his way to the back of the house to assist the woman. The delivery driver was able to pull the woman from the window, effectively saving her life.
Both Telecommunicators are veterans of the department. At the time of the nomination, Telecommunicator Sharp is only a month away from retirement. A few years ago, he took a similar call in which a resident was trapped in a house fire. That resident perished in the fire with Sharp on the phone. To get to experience this call and play a vital part in saving a life this close to his retirement was an amazing and cathartic turn of events for the 27-year veteran.
These telecommunicators were crucial in saving the life of a citizen. Missouri APCO is proud to recognize them as 9-1-1 Lifesavers and Missouri Teammates in Action.
Learn more about Missouri’s Teammates in Action program, view the stories behind past recognitions, or nominate your peers by visiting our teammates in action page!
