“We are very pleased to launch this initiative which will assist in educating young Islanders on the purpose and value of the 911 system in Prince Edward Island,” said Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs, Elmer MacFadyen. “The 911 Service was established in 2000 as a call answer transfer system to improve the public’s ability to access assistance in an emergency situation.”

The 911 flashcards, consisting of eight, large colorful, cartoon-like drawings, present the children with a number of “situations” designed to challenge them to identify which situations are emergencies requiring a call to 9-1-1. The presenter, guided by key points and phrases on the back of the flashcards, leads the children through a discussion of what constitutes a real emergency, how they should respond to it, how to make a 9-1-1 call, what information to give to the 9-1-1 call-taker, and what information the 9-1-1 call-taker might ask.

“Learning the proper use of 911 is important for all individuals, but especially for young children,” said Keith Lambe, Aliant regional manager, Prince Edward Island. “With flash card materials, it makes it so easy to engage children in a conversation about 911 and helps them to understand what constitutes an emergency.”

The 911 Flashcard Program was initiated in Nova Scotia in 2002 by the Nova Scotia Emergency Measures Organization (NSEMO), which partnered with Aliant in sharing the costs of developing and producing the 911 flashcards. The program generated such an enthusiastic response from children and the teachers in Nova Scotia, that NSEMO contacted the 911 Administration Offices in PEI and NB to see if they would be interested in starting a similar 911 Flashcard Program in their areas. The PEI 9-1-1 Administration Office immediately recognized the benefits of the program and contacted Aliant to deliver a 911 Flashcard Program in PEI as a complement to the existing in-school 9-1-1 education program.

“Informing students about the uses of the 9-1-1 system through a Flashcard Program enables them to identify what a real emergency is,” said Mildred Dover, Minister of Education. “The Department of Education is pleased to be a part of this initiative and believes this is a worthy program to implement into our Island schools.”

Beginning in January of 2005, members of the Prince Edward Island policing agencies associated with the three Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) will make 9-1-1 flashcard presentations to Island children upon invitation from class teachers as part of their 9-1-1 class activities.