The Baldwin County Fire Chiefs Association recently honored Mrs. Alice Dunbar for 36 years of service to the Styx River community as dispatcher for the Styx River Volunteer Fire Department. In the early years, before the 911 system came online in 1988, Dunbar started calling firefighters to action by telephone or citizens band radio.

She first would receive a call from the Robertsdale Police Department or a person in the community about an emergency, then she would pass that information on to the volunteers. Also, before 911, she dispatched for the Seminole Volunteer Fire Department for a short time.

For 17 years, the communities of Styx River, Rosinton and Gateswood were all combined into one department covering 225 square miles. Dunbar kept the 12 fire trucks and 30-plus volunteers moving smoothly to and from the hundreds of emergency calls.

When the communities formed their own individual departments and all went to the 911 system, Dunbar continued to dispatch for her community, Station 65 in Styx River.

The county 911 operators appreciate working with Dunbar because once a call from 911 goes to the Styx River Volunteer Fire Department, she takes over and relieves the center from having to handle the traffic between the firefighters and the 911 Center. The center communicates only with her.

Mrs. Dunbar and her husband, Deputy Chief Hubert Dunbar, not only volunteer their time to the fire department, they also provide the space at their home property for a 70-foot tower, an inside base radio station and a repeater station to connect with the county’s 911 tower system.

Dispatch service is not the only duty Mrs. Dunbar performs. She writes up all of the emergency calls’ extensive paperwork. The station’s volunteers love “Miss Alice’s” dedication and her familiar voice, because whether it's 3 p.m. in the afternoon or 3 a.m. in the morning, she will not go out of service until all fire trucks and firefighters are back to the station.