By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city will join West Haven’s three fire departments on Saturday to mark Fire Prevention Week at an exposition of all things fire, emergency management, public safety, police and health.
The sixth annual West Haven Fire, Emergency Management, 911 ERS, Police & Health Expo is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Savin Rock Park, 6 Rock St. The rain date is Sunday.
Free parking is available in the Bradley Point Park and Sea Bluff Beach lots, both off Captain Thomas Boulevard.
According to organizers, the expo will bring together families and first responders — firefighters, police officers, EMTs, healthcare professionals — from across the state for hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations to promote public safety education.
The large public exhibition, held on the eve and 104th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week, is organized by West Haven Fire Department Chief James P. O’Brien, West Shore Fire Department Chief Rafael Zayas, City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio and mayor’s office volunteer Beth Sabo.
West Haven’s storied fire service includes the independent West Haven Fire Department, which serves the 1st Fire Taxation, or Center, District, and the independent West Shore Fire Department, which serves the 2nd Taxation District. It also includes the 3rd Taxation District’s formerly independent Allingtown Fire Department, which was taken over by the city in July 2012 and is now known as the City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown.
Collectively, the departments have been in operation for 365 years: West Haven since 1888, Allingtown since 1907 and West Shore since 1918.
The free exposition will feature an array of fire engine and firetruck displays, including antique fire apparatus, spread along the park grounds of historic Savin Rock.
The shoreline expo will include marine units, a hazmat trailer and rides in West Haven’s 1935 Mack pump firetruck, as well as a DJ, food trucks and face painting.
It will also include educational demonstrations on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, drone technology, home fire sprinklers, and fire code and investigation.
Danny, the West Haven Fire Department’s station and therapy dog, and Sparky the Fire Dog will engage with children.
DJ Bob DePascale will entertain attendees with music, and members of West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will collect for their annual charity event benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
West Haven Fire Marshal Roger Sicotte will demonstrate the department’s smoke trailer and show children what to do in case of a fire. Sicotte and fire inspectors will also display information on fire education and prevention.
Allingtown Deputy Chief Keith T. Flood will demonstrate a home fire sprinkler during a live burn. The side-by-side burn will consist of two 8-by-8-foot cells, one with a sprinkler and one without. The burn will show the fire’s destruction on a structure without a sprinkler, compared with minimal damage to a structure with a sprinkler. The demonstration is sponsored by the Connecticut Fire Sprinkler Coalition to show the importance of home sprinklers, which can save lives and reduce property damage, Flood said.
Firefighters will demonstrate the Jaws of Life tool by prying open parts of a vehicle to free those trapped inside.
As part of Allingtown’s Child Safety Car Seat Installation and Inspection Program, firefighters will install car seats for people. They will also inspect those already installed to ensure that the portable seats are properly fastened for securing small children. The department has installed more than 300 car seats in the past five years.
Representatives from the Coast Guard and members of the University of New Haven’s Fire Science Club and Paramedicine Program will present information on programs. Members of the UNH club will also show children and adults how to use a fire extinguisher.
West Haven fire Capt. Andy Bennett, the chairman of the West Haven Fire Department Historical Library, and retired West Haven fire Lt. William Heffernan III, the department’s historian, will sell the department’s 125th anniversary merchandise. Heffernan will also show his 1920 Ford Model T firetruck.
Acting Director Rick Fontana and dispatchers of West Haven’s 911 Communications Center will educate people on the city’s Emergency Reporting System and hand out coloring books, emergency care kits and other informational materials. ERS dispatchers will also show city residents how to call 911 during an exercise in which they call the 911 center so the residents can talk with the call-taker and listen to questions.
West Haven police community outreach officers will give out informational materials on public safety, crime prevention and law enforcement programs. Animal control officers will hand out information on programs and services, and the department’s K-9 unit will hold a demonstration.
Members of the city Health Department will share information on mental health, overdose prevention and tobacco cessation while offering basic health screenings for blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation and body mass index.
The department is partnering with Stop & Shop of West Haven to offer flu, COVID-19, RSV and pneumonia vaccinations. Insurance is required.
The department is also partnering with the Connecticut National Guard Counterdrug Task Force to show its “Stashed Away” trailer. The mobile trailer educates people on the dangers of substance use by teaching cultural cues, common hiding spots, signs and symbols.
Fontana, who is also West Haven’s emergency management director, will present information on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team, storm preparation, post-storm recovery, and natural and human-made disasters.
Fontana said the CERT program, which needs volunteers, educates volunteers on disaster preparedness for hazards that could impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.
Fontana will also sign up residents for the city’s emergency notification system to receive alerts. Sign up at https://www.cityofwesthaven.com/alerts.
The Citizen Notification System enables the city to quickly provide residents with critical information in various situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, and building or neighborhood evacuations, Fontana said.
The system is operated in partnership with Everbridge Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts, the world leader in incident notification systems.
Once registered in Everbridge’s protected database, the site will send subscribers time-sensitive messages via cell, home or business phones, email or text messages, hard-of-hearing receiving devices, and more. through West Haven’s Emergency Operations Center.
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