More than 35 agencies devoted to safety will set up shop Saturday in the parking lot at First Baptist Church in Richmond Hill as part of the 11th annual Public Safety Day hosted by Bryan County Emergency Services and the South Bryan Volunteer Firefighters Association.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., agencies such as Air-Vac helicopter landing, American Red Cross, Georgia Power, the Pink Heals fire truck, Trapper Jack’s reptile safety and more will be on hand to perform public safety programs and display their equipment and services.
Volunteer Capt. Asa Clay, event chairman, said Tuesday the departments are excited about the event.
“It just gives the people in community an idea of just what goes on behind the scenes in an emergency,” Clay said. “It lets everybody that lives in community know, hey, we’re here for you and this is what we’re going to do for you. It also helps with younger kids to understand the importance of first responders.”
Volunteer Division Chief Mike Smith added they expect a good crowd.
“We’re feeling real good (about the day), and this should be — as far as the exhibits and everything— we’re going to have more than we have ever had,” Smith said. “In that sense we’re hoping we get a good crowd, there are a lot of other things going on but we’re hoping to get a big crowd.”
This will be the first time Bryan County Emergency Services Chief Freddy Howell will participate in the event. He said he is looking forward to it.
“What I’m looking forward to is meeting a lot of the public,” he said. “I hope a lot of business owners and citizens will show up and look at the equipment because this is their equipment — taxpayer dollars buys all this.”
He hopes to “mix and mingle” with the public and hear their worries, concerns or questions about anything public safety related.
“I’m also looking forward to watching the kids see the equipment,” he added. “I’m still a big kid at heart, so I like to see kids climb on the fire trucks and ambulances and look at all the gadgets we have on the apparatus’ now.”
Howell added while there are a lot of agencies that will be on hand to display their equipment, he hopes in the future that 9-1-1 dispatch can be a part of the event.
“That’s a missing link and those people do a huge service for us,” he said. “Maybe one day we can figure out how to get dispatchers and the console out there to see how important they are as a piece of the puzzle.”
Also during the event, the Bryan County Fire Auxiliary will hold a silent auction. All donations from the silent auction will go towards the construction and maintenance of the Bryan County Firefighter and EMS Memorial, Clay said. The Auxiliary is also seeking donations for the silent auction.
Clay added attendees will also have the opportunity purchase a brick to display their name at the memorial.
For more information about the event, or to make a donation to the silent auction, contact Smith at bcfd601@coastalnow.net or 312-5133, or Clay at asa.clay@azcchem.com or 655-0464.