Community Education

The Emergency Communications Center promotes public awareness and understanding of the community’s emergency response resources and how to access them by providing speakers to address community organizations regarding the role and operation of the 9-1-1 Center.

The Center has developed two 911 Awareness presentations targeted at educating preschool through 6th grade children in the proper use of 911.

These presentations are available to any school, community and social organization upon request.

The first presentation, titled Emergency - Dial 911 featuring the 911 Puppets, is targeted for preschool through 1st grade and takes about 30-35 minutes. (A television and VCR are required.) Emergency Communications Center personnel will be present to guide the children through the presentation. A video that shows puppets playing key roles in emergency situations will be viewed, after which there will be time for discussion and questions.

The second presentation, titled 911 - Protect Yourself, is targeted for 2nd through 6th grade and takes about an hour. (A television and VCR are required.) This presentation is more interactive, with Emergency Communications Center personnel conducting role playing exercises with the children both during and after the viewing of a video especially geared toward the older child.

Both presentations cover how emergencies are handled in real life situations and the procedures and/or consequences in making emergency calls. For the older child, guidance in demonstrating appropriate emergency behavior is provided through the use of role-play situations.

Interested parties should contact Cynthia Hollingsead at the Decatur Police Department (217-424-2711) to schedule the presentations