What is Emergency Services Day? How to celebrate 999 Day

September 9 is an opportunity for charities to fundraise and raise awareness of emergency services
Emergency Services Day is celebrated annually on September 9
999 Day

Emergency Services Day, also known as 999 Day, is an annual celebration of NHS and emergency service workers.

Celebrated annually on September 9, 999 Day is also an opportunity for charities to fundraise and raise awareness, and for emergency services departments to engage with their communities.

It was created quite recently, in 2016, so many still find themselves wondering when the special occasion is, why it was established, and how it is celebrated.

When is Emergency Services Day?

Emergency Services Day is a day dedicated to celebrating emergency service workers, such as paramedics, police officers, and firefighters. It is celebrated each year on September 9.

The day also aims to promote using emergency services responsibly, educate the public on lifesaving skills, and promote careers in the services.

It was founded by police officer Tom Scholes-Fogg, who wrote: “In 2016, I began looking into ways the UK honoured emergency services personnel and those killed as a result of their service. I was astonished to discover that unlike other countries, the UK had no national annual day to honour and promote the work of the NHS and emergency services.

“We had a hugely successful Armed Forces Day, but nothing for our NHS and 999 heroes, this despite there being 10 times more people serving in the NHS and emergency services than our armed forces.”

How is Emergency Services Day celebrated?

Local emergency service departments across the UK will celebrate 999 Day by hosting events for their communities, while councils may fly the 999 Day flag in honour of their first responders.

Some emergency departments may also choose to host a minute’s silence in honour of the workers who died in the line of duty at 9am on September 9.

A social media campaign will also take place on September 9, with participants encouraged to use the hashtag #999Day.

Organisers say that the media campaign “promotes the aims of 999 Day and encourages people, local authorities, businesses and the community to promote and give thanks to the millions of people who work and volunteer across the NHS and emergency services”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in