Emergency Services Day

Today, 9 September, is Emergency Services Day, also known as 999 Day.

How it started

Since the pandemic we are all well aware of just how much our emergency services do for us.  We can all remember standing on the doorstep in lockdown clapping for our NHS heroes.  However Emergency Service Day was set up before the pandemic in 2017 by Tom Scholes-Fogg after a conversation with his Grandfather left him researching and then discovering there was no official day/event to honour the UK emergency services, particularly those that have died in the line of duty.

After Tom presented a plan to 10 Downing Street 999 Day was launched with the support of then Prime Minister Theresa May, Her Majesty the Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duke of Cambridge.

999 Day is also supported by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the National Fire Chiefs’ Council, Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, the NHS, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and all Search and Rescue organisations across the UK.

Who 999 Day honours

999 Day promotes the work of the emergency services, promotes using the emergency services responsibly, educates the public about basic lifesaving skills, and promotes the many career and volunteering opportunities available.

Volunteers are an essential part of the emergency services family and they play a core part in keeping Britain safe. 999 volunteer roles include; Special Constables, Retained Firefighters, NHS Community Responders, St John Ambulance, RNLI, Search and Rescue and Coastguard volunteers.

Two minutes silence

At 9am on 9th September there will be 2-minutes’ silence to remember all who have been killed as a result of their service to our nation. People are encouraged to participate and not tweet etc for those two minutes.

Today is our chance to honour the heroic men and women of the NHS and emergency services. Let’s show our support to our local emergency services heroes in Preston, Leyland, Chorley and the surrounding areas.