Photos courtesy King County
One out of every five King County residents are born in another country, with more than 170 languages spoken in schools. Due to language and cultural barriers, some residents may be unfamiliar with 9-1-1 services. For example, 9-1-1 is not a universal “emergency” number in many countries. In China, there are three emergency numbers – 110, 119 and 120.
To help bridge this gap, on Monday, Oct. 3, King County’s E-911 Program Office introduced the “Emery’s 9-1-1 All Stars” program at an afterschool program at New Futures – Woodridge Park in Burien.
An approachable character, Emery the Emergency Penguin was used to teach kids the how, when and where of calling 9-1-1. Kids learned about 9-1-1 in a variety of ways including coloring giant posters illustrating different scenarios, identifying street signs and practicing how to dial on a phone pad. As a fun treat, a surprise musical guest sang the Emery Emergency song.
The kids filled out a pre-quiz prior to the class and a post-quiz following the class to assess what they learned from the lesson. One skilled student was selected as the Emery’s 9-1-1 All Star demonstrating impeccable knowledge of the when, how and where of calling 9-1-1. The kids received informational pieces to take home to their parents in English, Spanish, Chinese and Somali.
For more information, including in-language downloadable resources, visit www.kingcounty.gov/911