MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - One brave soul spoke up at the Meridian Township Police Citizens' Academy, and before long, the group was planning their first trip inside a 911 Dispatch Center.

Essentially built like Fort Knox, the building has windows that are set up in a limited way so no one can look inside. The walls are about a foot thick, and there's even a kitchen inside for dispatchers to use.

There's backup generators. And then backup generators, for the backup generators. The dispatch center is designed in a way so that if there was any kind of disaster--the employees could go on taking calls no matter what.

The Citizens' Academy has decided to add this tour of the dispatch center, to round out their program. It will now be a 10-weeks long.