Hundreds attend fourth safety fair

September is National Preparedness Month and to kick it off right the Coffee County Emergency Management Agency and the Civilian Emergency Response Team hosted the Fourth Annual Emergency Preparedness and Safety Fair Saturday at the Enterprise Civic Center.

Hundreds attended the free family-friendly event that included more than 40 booths with educational seminars, demonstrations and exhibits related to emergency preparedness. Information on how to build an emergency shelter, preparing for emergency evacuation and other life saving tips were included at the education fair.

An Arrive Alive simulator made its debut at this year’s event. The simulator allowed people to experience the dangers of texting and driving. Through sensors connected to the vehicle, participants experienced, in a controlled environment, the potential consequences of distracted driving and driving while intoxicated.

“Very challenging,” is how Joseph Ellow of Enterprise described his experience trying to text while driving. “It really heightened my awareness of the consequences of the dangers of texting while driving,” he said. “If this helps people understand the consequences of their actions while driving, it is a good thing.”

L.C. Cook of Elba agreed. His experience included trying to drive after simulating consumption of six alcoholic drinks in a two-hour time span. All he succeeded in doing was overcompensating while turning the steering wheel until he crashed into a building.

After six simulated drinks of alcohol, Frank Page of Enterprise didn’t crash, but a large part of his simulated drive was dangerously under the speed limit in an effort to stay in the correct lane.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency trooper Sgt. Blake Turman demonstrated another type of simulator. With a mannequin inside a vehicle, Turman showed what happens to a person trapped inside a vehicle when it flips, both while wearing a seat belt and without one.

The Daleville SWAT team demonstrated some of their basic team tactics to include vehicle assaults and officer down rescues. Others participating in the safety fair included the bomb squad, an air rescue helicopter, the mounted posse, Guide Dogs of America, the American Red Cross, the Wiregrass United Way, the Enterprise Fire Department and the Enterprise Police Department. 

Also introduced at this year’s event was the new CERT trailer. It’s a first for the county and possibly a first in the state, said CERT Volunteer Coordinator Scotty Johnson. “It gives us the opportunity to have emergency equipment all in one place and then in the event of a disaster, we can take it to where it is and set up a mobile command post,” Johnson said. “Whatever the emergency, we’re going to equip it for that need.

“CERT is a training program that prepares you to help yourself, your family, and your neighbors in the event of a disaster,” Johnson said. “During an incident, emergency service personnel may not be able to reach everyone right away. By getting trained in CERT, you will have the skills to help emergency responders save lives and protect property.”

Volunteers trained in CERT perform duties such as shelter support, crowd control and evacuation, Johnson said. “The role of a CERT volunteer is to help others until trained emergency personnel arrive.

 “We’re just trying to get more and more people certified and prepared,” Johnson said. “No one expects a disaster to happen in their community but they do happen and when they do, we want to be prepared.”