Cumberland County Regional Communications preparing for Fourth Annual Touch-A-Truck event

By Ed Pierce

Cumberland County’s 911 Regional Communications Center is preparing to host the Fourth Annual Touch-A-Truck on Saturday, April 18 at 22 High St. in Windham.

The Fourth Annual Touch-A-Truck event hosted by
Cumberland County's 911 Regional Communications 
Center will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 at 22 High St. in Windham. The free
event for families will offer up-close experiences with
public safety and public works vehicles, demonstrations,
food trucks and vendors. COURTESY PHOTO   

The free event will be held rain or shine, with Touch-A-Truck activities running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and everyone is welcome to attend and participate.

This family friendly event will feature:

** Fire Trucks, Police Vehicles and Emergency Medical Technician equipment

** K-9 Demonstrations

** Utility Terrain Vehicles

** Drone Demonstrations

** Public Works Vehicles

** Maine Forest Service

** A Bounce House

** Food trucks

** Safety tips

** Vendors

** 9-1-1 simulator for kids

** Dispatch facility tours

The Cumberland County Regional Communications Center (CCRCC) is a Public Safety Emergency Communications Center. The CCRCC provides emergency and non-emergency dispatch service for many public safety agencies within Cumberland County and serves as the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for 19 of the 28 different communities within Cumberland County. As the Public Safety Answering Point for those communities, the center receives all 9-1-1 phone calls for those areas.

Events such as the Touch-A-Truck gathering is an opportunity for the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center’s Public Education Team to educate the public about 9-1-1. Its goal for the Public Education Program is to successfully teach children and adults what to do in the event that they have an emergency and need to call 9-1-1.

The team consists of many dedicated and knowledgeable Emergency Public Safety 9-1-1 dispatchers who are able to answer questions to help the public better understand what they do, how they do it and provide a 9-1-1 Simulator experience that is designed for children in grades K to 4.

The 9-1-1 Simulator allows children to actually dial 9-1-1 on a telephone and answer pre-recorded questions. These questions are similar to what they would be asked should they ever have to call for help in the future. Through the use of the 9-1-1 Simulator and having trained dispatchers on location for the Touch-A-Truck event, Cumberland County Regional Communications Center strives for both children and adults to leave the event having more knowledge of what to expect if they have to call 9-1-1 someday. <