ATLANTA — Thirty years ago, a bomb exploded inside Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Olympic Games, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others. The attack forever changed Atlanta.
As the world watched the chaos unfold, 911 dispatchers were on the front lines, answering frantic calls, sending help and guiding people through one of the city’s darkest moments.
Now, those dispatchers are sharing their memories exclusively with Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter.
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At the time, they were the calm voices on the other end of the phone. Inside the 911 center, dispatchers remember the confusion, the fear and the moment they realized Atlanta was facing something unimaginable.
“The person behind me was the one who got the call,” said Linda Gray, an E-911 senior dispatcher.
“You could see people in real time running, and I saw a bunch of smoke and lights,” said Kristie Woods, an E-911 training coordinator assistant.
For the dispatchers working that night, July 27, 1996, the memories remain vivid.
“It was a lot,” said Clayton Sanders, an E-911 communications supervisor.
“And then we figured it out it was the unthinkable that had happened,” said Rotunda Tyson, an E-911 senior dispatcher.
A bomb exploded inside Centennial Olympic Park during the Olympic Games, sending shockwaves across Atlanta and around the world.
Three decades later, the reminders of that moment remain. The Olympic pins they collected, the equipment they used, and the technology powering emergency response have all changed over the years.
“The technology upgrades we’ve had in the 30 years have been quite monumental,” Woods said.
But the lessons learned that night still shape how these 911 call takers answer every emergency today.
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“We just went to work… we just started doing what we were trained to do,” Tyson said.
When FIFA brought the world back to Atlanta decades later, those memories came rushing back. Once again, the city prepared for a massive international event and the possibility of the unexpected.
“It felt like the build-up all over again knowing we were going to have a large international contingent coming into the city,” Woods said.
Together, these dispatchers represent more than a century of combined service. Thirty years after Atlanta’s darkest night, their mission has never changed.
“I’m 30 years plus, saving lives, saving property and I’m still here,” Tyson said.
The dispatchers say the biggest lesson from that night is the importance of preparation because you never know when the next call will change everything. Today, they continue to train, run drills, and prepare for whatever comes next.
And after facing one of Atlanta’s most defining moments together, they say the bond they built feels more like family.
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