West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Exposition scheduled for Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 14, 2022 — West Haven’s three fire departments and the city will salute National Fire Prevention Week with an exposition of all things fire, police, public safety and health.

The second annual West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Expo is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Old Grove Park and Palace Street. Free parking is available in the lots off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

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West Haven’s collective fire services include 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.

Together, the departments have been in operation for 350 years — West Haven since 1888, Allingtown since 1907 and West Shore since 1918.

West Haven Chief James P. O’Brien, West Shore Chief Stephen Scafariello and Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio are organizing the large public exhibition, which will feature fire engine and firetruck displays, including antique fire apparatus, and a fire service exhibit at Old Grove Park and Palace Street.

The expo will include Mack firetruck rides, a hazmat trailer, food trucks, the departments’ rescue boats and fire merchandise vendors, as well as live music by Tre Paul and an appearance by Sparky the Fire Dog, said organizer Beth A. Sabo, the Expo Committee’s chairwoman.

It will also include educational demonstrations on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, drone technology, home sprinkler systems, first aid, and fire code and investigation.

West Haven firefighters will demonstrate the department’s 35-foot smoke trailer and show children what to do in the event of a fire.

West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will collect donations for its annual Muscular Dystrophy Association charity event.

Allingtown firefighters will perform a certified inspection or installation of child safety car seats for the public free of charge. They will also show how to ensure that the portable seats have been properly fastened for securing small children.

Fire apparatus dealers and members of the University of New Haven’s Fire Science and EMS/Paramedic clubs will have resource tables with information on products and programs.

Jennifer A. Amendola, the director of West Haven’s 911 Emergency Communications Center, which operates out of police headquarters at 200 Sawmill Road, will educate the public on the structure of the city’s Emergency Reporting System and what the dispatchers do.

Amendola and other ERS dispatchers will demonstrate how to make a “real” phone call to 911 while showing people what the dispatcher on the other end of the call would be doing. For example, dispatchers will show the public the premade, established card sets that consist of a series of questions they must ask when receiving certain types of medical emergencies to give the callers an idea of why the questions need to be asked and why.

Dispatchers will show how to “TEXT 911” if people cannot place a phone call in an emergency. There will also be a display of what the dispatcher workstations look like, along with some of the equipment they use, such as headsets and portables.

“West Haven 911 will be happy to educate the public on any questions they may have about the system, how it works, what to do,” Amendola said. “We want to make sure people know when to call and reassure them that there will always be a voice on the other end to help them.”

ERS dispatchers will also distribute educational materials and pass out goodies to people of all ages to remind them that 911 should be called for any police, fire or medical emergency, Amendola said.

The West Haven Department of Emergency Management will have information on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team, storm preparation, post-storm recovery, and natural and human-made disasters.

Emergency Management Director Joseph Soto 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.

Soto will sign up residents for West Haven’s emergency notification system to receive alerts. The Citizen Notification System enables the city to quickly provide residents with critical information in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, and building or neighborhood evacuations, he said.

The system is operated in partnership with Everbridge Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts, the world’s 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 or email or text messages. The notifications are broadcast through the city’s Emergency Operations Center.

Members of the West Haven Health Department will give doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to those 18 and older and have information on the coronavirus, food sanitation and the flu.

Local health care agencies, including Bridges, will present their programs.

The West Haven Police Department will hold a K-9 demonstration and have information on public safety, crime prevention and law enforcement programs.

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