More than 600 children passed through the gates of the Illawarra Rural Fire Service Fire Control Centre, excited to play hero for the day.

They climbed behind the wheel of fire trucks wearing their miniature helmets, and peered into the back of an ambulance to take a look at all the gadgets.

For Jacob Long, 7, the expo was the perfect place to proudly show off his firefighter dad, Leonard.

‘‘Look, that’s my dad!’’ he told his Albion Park Public School classmates.

‘‘He drives the fire truck sometimes, it’s kinda cool. He is very good at his job, he puts out fires.’’

Rural Fire Service officer David Hitchens said the event was about educating children and familiarising them with emergency service workers so they would feel confident to call or approach them in emergency situations.

‘‘It’s about making them feel comfortable enough to call triple-0 and when they do call triple-0 they know they’re going to get someone friendly to help them,’’ he said.

‘‘Often when kids arrive some are very hesitant in approaching you and within 15 minutes they’re all over the trucks and pulling on helmets. They quickly overcome any fear they had.’’

The four-hour event featured a number of exhibits, which included police rescue trucks, trail bikes and jet skis, Fire and Rescue NSW and RFS trucks, HAZMAT vehicles and a sky lift.