King County 911 officials are worried about reaching a growing number of people who don't know how to call 911, so they're reaching out the best way they can: by releasing a new children's book.
The book is called Emery's Birthday Party, and it's designed to teach kids when and how to call 911 and even what to do when they accidentally call emergency services. It is the second book from the county's E-911 program.
It sounds simple enough but the reasons why are astounding. Every day, more than 5,000 calls are made to 911 in King County, and only half are for true emergencies. As the county becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, a growing number of people have barriers using 911.
"Many people are coming from countries where there isn't an emergency number, or it's a different number than 911," said Kayreen Lum, King County 911 public educator. "There are definitely people coming from countries where it is not safe to get the government involved, and so we do see some fear of police and other government agencies, and they don't want to call 911."
One example is the Chinese population. Lum says research from the University of Washington shows Chinese immigrants prefer to handle things in their community rather than dial 911.
Lum recently spent one morning reading the new book to first graders at George T. Daniel Elementary School in Kent, where the student body speaks 32 different languages. One-third of the students come from Spanish-speaking homes.
The idea is to teach kids in school how to dial 911 so they can teach their parents. This kind of education has already shown results.
"[My brother] was driving a car and then he got into a big accident," said one first-grader in the reading class. "His whole car got all damaged, and he didn't know how to call 911." That little boy made the call and got emergency crews to respond.
Another little girl raised her hand and said she had to dial 911 when her mom couldn't breathe. Another boy said he called 911 when his dad and brother got into a car crash.
The book will be available at public libraries, organizations, and schools.
