A new push is being made to hire more emergency dispatchers amid a shortage of the workers in New Hampshire.At the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, dispatchers respond to 250,000 calls for help each year. The office works with 24 police departments and 19 fire and EMS departments, as well as helps fill the gaps when other dispatch centers in the county are short-handed.Maj. Christopher Bashaw said it's all done while the office is short-staffed."We don't exactly have people beating down the doors to come work," he said.Bashaw said like many industries hit during the pandemic, the office is struggling to hire people to fill those essential roles in the community."Anyone can jump into dispatching," he said. "It could be a recent high school graduate. It could be someone retired looking for a second career."New dispatchers undergo weeks of training. Once they start, the job can be demanding. Long hours and stressful calls could be one reason for the lack of applications, but officials said they're also struggling because jobs in the private sector offer more money and flexibility.To help fill its four open seats, the sheriff's office is offering a $3,000 sign-on bonus.Chad Murphy has been a dispatcher for the past 24 years. He said the people he works with are a family and truly love to help their community through their job, but it's not for everyone."You have to be able to multitask to start," he said. "You have to really be able to keep a good mindset during high-intense situations."He said every day has been worth it, and when he gets home, he knows he spent his day helping save someone's life."He's alive because I was there. No one else did it. I did it," Murphy said. "That person is going home to their family, or their family is going to them in the hospital because of what I did. There is no better feeling than that."