Three young boys dubbed heroes

In the middle of the night, wild screams roused Quinton Bates

The 11-year-old discovered that his 2-year-old sister, Kacey was suffering a diabetic seizure. As his mother attended to her, Quinton and called 9-1-1, calmly giving the dispatcher the details. He saved Kacey’s life.

“My mom was screaming, too, so I got scared, but I stayed calm,” he said. “I was scared, but I wasn’t yelling or anything.”

Newport Beach police, UC Irvine athletes and other officials gathered Friday to honor Quinton of Inglewood, as well as 12-year-old Nathan Perry of Rancho Santa Margarita and 10-year-old Lamar Sanford of Inglewood, for their bravery at the 2007 Southern California 9-1-1 Heroes Awards Ceremony.

Nathan called 9-1-1 when his father suffered a seizure last month, and Lamar saved his mother who was experiencing severe chest pains and was unable to speak.

As a major supporter of the 9-1-1 For Kids outreach organization, the upcoming Yard House at Fashion Island opened its doors early for the occasion, hosting a group of children from the James A. Foshay Learning Center in Los Angeles for the ceremony and lunch that followed.

The government-funded 9-1-1 For Kids aims to teach young children how to save lives and property by using 9-1-1 properly. .

“Public education and caller training are critical because the whole system cannot work without the users knowing what to do,” said Elise Kim, executive director of the nonprofit. “Seeing what these kids have done reaffirms in my mind that children are some of the most critical 9-1-1 users.”

Newport Beach Police Chief John Kleinsaid programs like these are crucial to the community..

“It is important so that when an emergency does happen, kids can step up and call us,” he said. “For a young child to be able to call us is a tremendous benefit to the community as a whole.”

The Yard House at 849 Newport Center Drive is set to open 11 a.m. Sunday. It features a full bar with 100 beers on tap, a selection of fresh-fish entrees and 50-inch plasma television sets. Diners can look forward to American fusion fare, including seared ahi sashimi, miso sea bass, and steak and shrimp.

“This is probably the most beautiful store we’ve built so far,” said regional manager Ciaran Gough.

For more information on 9-1-1 For Kids, go to www.911forkids.com.