1230 Hours, Tuesday, May 1, 2007 GEORGETOWN, DE – The Sussex County 911 Center will double as a classroom for a day, as hundreds of area students will learn about public safety, tour the facility and watch demonstrations during the Seventh annual 911 Awareness Day on Wednesday, May 2, 2007.

The event began in 2001, and has grown in popularity ever since, with as many as 1,500 children in third and fifth grades from area schools attending 911 Awareness Day in May 2005. This year, the event is targeted to fifth-grade students from Sussex County, but is free and open to the general public to attend.

“This began in 2001 as an outreach to the Hispanic population to educate children about the 911 system and services,” said Richard Short, assistant chief dispatcher for the County’s 911 Center. “We have now opened this to the DARE program at each school to allow all of the children a full day of safety and 911 education.”

Displays and demonstrations planned for the event include the Delaware State Police helicopter, Sgt. Dan, State Farm Insurance, the County and State Mobile Command units, bicycle safety, Smokey Bear, Vince & Larry (the crash test dummies), Delaware Electric Co-op, the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Delaware State Fire School, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and assorted fire trucks, ambulances and County EMS units. Also, lunch will be donated by Grotto’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Pepsi-Cola Bottling and Edy’s Ice Cream.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is again hosted by the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center and the Delaware State Police’s 911 Center, also known as SUSCOM. The center is located at 21303 Airport Road, Georgetown.

For more information, call Mr. Short at (302) 855-7802.