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 fifth 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 former Savin Rock Conference Center lot and the Bradley Point Park municipal lot, both off Captain Thomas Boulevard.
According to organizers, the expo will bring together families and first responders — firefighters, police officers, EMTs, health care 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 103rd 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 retired city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who is now a volunteer in Mayor Dorinda Borer’s office.
West Haven’s storied fire service includes the independent West Haven Fire Department, which serves the First Fire Taxation, or Center, District, and the independent West Shore Fire Department, which serves the Shore’s 2nd District. It also includes the 3rd 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 356 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, along with live music, food trucks and face painting.
It will also include Life Star, Hartford HealthCare’s critical care transport helicopter, as well as 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.
Members of West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will collect for their annual charity event benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
On the Savin Rock stage, INITY, a reggae dance band, will perform a set of soulful, funky reggae favorites. The concert is sponsored by Surfside Veterans.
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.
West Haven and West Shore 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 over 100 car seats in the past four years.
Representatives from the Coast Guard and other armed forces and members of the University of New Haven’s Fire Science Club and paramedic 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 the 911 Communications Center at West Haven police headquarters 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.
Members of the West Haven police Special Response Team will show the department’s BearCat armored vehicle. Community outreach officers will give out informational materials on public safety, crime prevention and law enforcement programs, along with coloring books, mugs and key rings. Animal control officers will hand out information on programs and services.
In addition, the West Haven police and Connecticut State Police K-9 units will hold demonstrations.
Members of the city Health Department will display information on the flu season, vaccines and food sanitation.
Representatives from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center will display information on health care services, and representatives from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation will sign up participants for clinical trial research studies.
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 secure 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. The notifications are broadcast through West Haven’s Emergency Operations Center.