Elmwood Park held its second safety fair over the weekend.
The safety fair was held on Saturday in front of the village’s firehouse at 7 Conti Parkway. First-response vehicles such as tactical police cars, fire engines and ambulances were set with all of their equipment visible for fair attendees to see and ask questions about.
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“My son’s always been into firefighters and police station stuff,” said Dan Yashar, 45, who was at the fair with his 10-year-old son. “So it’s nice to see all that stuff up close.”
Last year was the first year of the safety fair and it was mainly focused on the village’s fire department. This is the second year that Elmwood Park Fire Department Lt. Mike Terzo has organized the event, and this time the village’s police department also joined in.
“People usually aren’t aware of all the equipment that’s available to them,” Terzo said.
To expand the event, Terzo worked alongside Elmwood Park Police Cmdr. Mike Kmiecik.
“Lt. Terzo is one of my closest friends, so it was very easy to work together to put this event together,” Kmiecik said. “So we kind of built on what was already established from last year’s event — to fill in the blanks in what we could do to include police alongside the fire department.”
Part of this expansion included a magnetic safety sheet that was given to event attendees that had important emergency numbers as well as tips for residents in an emergency situation. And one of the major draws to this year’s safety fair was Superior Ambulance Service’s helicopter air ambulance. The helicopter was scheduled to land in the parking lot next to the firehouse, and residents stood in the wind and drizzle waiting for it to arrive.
The fire department also showed how a quickly a fire can spread in a residence with a controlled burn.
“It’s a positive event, for the little kids to come out and just have fun,” said Elizabeth Gonzalez, 29. She heard about the event through her aunt because one of her cousins is a Boy Scout who was cooking hot dogs with his troop for the event. “It’s a good day to come out and have fun.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.