GEORGETOWN — After a three-year hiatus, 9-1-1 Awareness Day will take center stage Oct. 12 at the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center.

The free gathering will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how the facility and first responders serve area citizens 24/7.

This year’s event — the first since 2019 — will feature an information-filled day of safety demonstrations and emergency vehicles, from police K-9s subduing pretend perpetrators to firetrucks, emergency medical services units and police equipment.

It will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the EOC complex at 21911 Rudder Lane, near Georgetown.

Each year at 9-1-1 Awareness Day, the public is given a better understanding of how the center operates, as well as how police, firefighters, medical personnel and emergency dispatchers work to save lives, a Sussex County press release said.

The event also attracts hundreds of the county’s fifth grade students, who spend the day watching and taking part in demonstrations that reinforce safety and preparedness.

In addition to tours of the center — as well as the new EMS wing — displays will include the Delaware State Police K-9 team, the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department safety house, the State Fire Marshal, the Delaware State Fire School, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Additionally, there will be more than a dozen police cars, firetrucks, ambulances, paramedic units, and county and state mobile command centers on-site.

The event is sponsored by Sussex County and the state police, which jointly operate the facility.