The Great 9-1-1 for Kids Adventure
Teaching Children the Proper Use of 9-1-1
by Angelia Pinaga
| Angelia Pinaga is the Regional Events Manager with Kinder-Vision, a company which educates children on various safety issues through use of police and other public safety officials. She is also a former employee of the NCTCOG 911 Public Education Department in Arlington, TX. For more information on 9-1-1 For Kids, contact the NCTCOG at 972/392-3003 |
| Photographs: (select thumbnail to view detail image) |
 Navarro County (TX) Dispatcher Barbara Gooden and Red E. Fox (Julie Waller) demonstrate 9-1-1 calls during a local fair. NCTCOG |
 9-1-1 For Kids mascot Red E. Fox oversees a demonstration of the proper use of 9-1-1 during a presentation at a Mountain View (CA) grade school. MVPD |
 Dispatcher Andre Harrison passes out Red E. Fox stickers at a grade school assembly kicking off the 9-1-1 For Kids program in Mountain View, CA. MVPD |
This article can be found on
page 34 of the May/June 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
When emergencies occur, seconds and proper knowledge count. With the implementation of the "9-1-1 For Kids" program, the North Central Texas Council Of Governments (NCTCOG) in Arlington, Texas, is arming young children with the information they need to obtain assistance with emergencies. The program focuses on teaching three simple messages: when to call 9-1-1, how to call 9-1-1, and what to say while communicating with the 9-1-1 dispatcher.
In 1997, participants of 9-1-1 For Kids, including public safety personnel, Together Accomplishing Goals (TAG) members, and 9-1-1 communications staff, reached more than 30,000 elementary-aged children. Along with program mascot Red E. Fox, participants visited various sites to test whether or not children are ready to properly handle emergencies. These volunteers reached the children by hosting presentations, station tours, health fairs, and a variety of other local special events.
Christy Williams, 9-1-1 Public Education/Training Coordinator at NCTCOG, said that she attributes success to the program's quality and valuable message. "The message can save lives and property," Williams said.
Other regions recognize the 9-1-1 For Kids program benefits also. The Mountain View, California, Police Department recently began implementing the "9-1-1 For Kids" program. The department hosted its first presentation of the year to second-grade children of Mountain View on March 16. Andre Harrison, MVPD's 9-1-1 For Kids Coordinator, said the kids were attentive for the duration of the program. "Our presentations usually last about 30 minutes; we don't want them much longer than that because the kids have short attention spans," Harrison said.
Harrison projects more widespread program results for the next school year. He said the department got a late start this year and next year they will target a broader population. "Our goal for this year is to educate all the children of Mountain View in Kindergarten through second grade. Right now we host six presentations a week at Mountain View's eight elementary schools. Next year we hope to branch out to help educate other groups," Harrison said.
"9-1-1 for Kids" targets children between the ages of 4 and 7. The program uses the "Be Ready" video kit that includes a video, poster, stickers, activity pages, home phone cards and a presenter's guide. The program offers videos and coloring books in either Spanish or English. Red E. Fox appears on these items and also in a video (performed by puppet characters) called "The Great 9-1-1 Adventure." The video teaches children various aspects of 9-1-1, including, how to dial out on touch-tone and rotary telephones. In the video, Red E. Fox offers scenarios that quiz children's knowledge of when to call 9-1-1.
Sherri Griffith Powell, Information Specialist with the Texas Advisory Commission on State Emergency Communications, said that the agency's goal for this year is to teach all children in Texas ages 4 to 7 the proper way to use 9-1-1. "We want to distribute 40,000 classroom kits and 30,000 videos to public, private and home schools to the approximated 30,000 Kindergarten and first-grade classrooms in Texas.
Powell shared the 9-1-1 call of this year's Telecommunicator of- the-Year recipient. "A dispatcher took a 9-1-1 call from an eight-year-old girl. The girl was home with her younger sister and the baby-sitter when the baby-sitter collapsed. The younger sister instructed her older sister to dial 9-1-1. The dispatcher was able to calm the girls, to determine the baby-sitter was in diabetic shock, to contact the girls parents and to stay on the phone with them until EMS arrived at the scene."
It is imperative that people act quickly when emergencies happen and it is important that young children are properly educated about the 9-1-1 service. Tony Urbano, of Tony Urbano Productions, which created Red E. Fox, said that he sincerely hopes that what Red E. Fox teaches children today will help save lives and property in the future.
