Saturday, October 1, 2011
Once again the Naperville Police and Fire Departments will be “Partnering for Prevention” during Public Safety Month in October. The purpose of this initiative is to disseminate important crime and fire prevention information to Naperville residents and encourage citizen action regarding crime and fire prevention strategies. Both departments firmly believe that citizens are the number one defense against fire and crime and want to spread the word that residents and employees need to “Prepare, Practice and Prevent” in order to keep their families safe.
Public Safety Month will have its official kick-off on Saturday, October 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Public Safety Open House at Naperville’s Public Safety Campus. This must-see event will feature a variety of activities including an auto extrication and simulated DUI arrest, along with a Superior Air Med Helicopter exercise at 11:45 a.m. and a flashover fire demonstration at 12:30 p.m. A large display of fire and police vehicles and equipment will also be on-site.
Activities specifically geared toward children include a hands-on Firefighter Challenge in which participants have the opportunity to squirt a real fire hose and a Police Challenge in which participants catch and jail a criminal. Teenagers will also have an opportunity to participate by experiencing the AAA Distracted Driving Simulator, which educates new and future drivers about the dangers of texting and driving.
New this year will be a photo booth, Arson Investigation Booth and the chance for licensed drivers to wear “fatal vision goggles” while maneuvering a golf cart through a short driving course. Participants wearing the goggles experience the impairments associated with alcohol and/or drug consumption, including balance, vision, reaction time and judgment. Wearing the goggles while driving the golf cart demonstrates how these impairments negatively affect an individual’s ability to drive. Old favorites such as the evidence collection demonstration of fingerprint lifting, fire extinguisher training and visits by Sparky the Fire Dog and McGruff the Crime Dog will be back again.
Many of the activities and much of the information will be relevant to area Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts and help them complete safety requirements needed to earn a variety of badges. The Public Safety Open House is an event the entire community will enjoy while obtaining valuable safety information for their families, neighborhoods and workplaces.
For more information, e-mail Soraya McLaughlin at mclaughlins@naperville.il.us or Mary Browning at browningm@naperville.il.us.
Hope to see you there!
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