SEQUIM — Whether it’s to prepare for a fire, an earthquake or just in general for emergencies and times of crisis, the Public Safety and Information Fair seems like a good bet to help.
Organized by Clallam County Fire District 3 and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), 30-plus local agencies and 20 agency vehicles are expected to be in attendance for the free event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Guy Cole Events Center, 202 N. Blake Ave., in Carrie Blake Community Park.
Blaine Zechenelly, disaster planner for Clallam County Fire District 3, said the event has been in the planning for three months. Organizers wanted to get all the agencies together in a room for each other and the public.
He said the event is a good place for those new to emergency preparedness to start and learn about becoming prepared and the different agencies involved in helping with emergencies.
“The experts will be there,” Zechenelly said. “It’s a chance to really learn about services available in the community.”
The event includes educational and vendor booths, fire trucks and ambulances, law enforcement vehicles, games and activities for children, two mascots (a Sasquatch and a fire dog), demonstrations on equipment and about how fire progresses, informational speakers, and more.
Adagio and Sunshine Cafe will have food available for sale, too.
Interim fire chief Dan Orr with Clallam County Fire District 3 said organizers are excited about the event’s possibilities.
He said there will be a lot for children to participate in and the opportunity to talk to an array of agencies.
“If the world’s power went out, these are the folks you’d want to talk to,” Orr said.
He is one of the keynote speakers on Saturday. At 9 a.m. Elyssa Tappero, tsunami program coordinator for Washington Emergency Management, speaks about tsunamis and tsunami sirens; at 11 a.m. Jim Buck with Joyce Emergency Planning and Preparedness speaks about camping in your house; George Drake, Clallam PUD safety manager, talks about power line safety at 1 p.m., and Orr speaks at 3 p.m. about the Cascadia Subduction Earthquake Zone.
Orr said he hopes residents can use any information they obtain and share it with their neighbors and friends.
“Together, we can build a safer and more resilient community,” he said.
Confirmed agencies include Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County, YMCA of the Olympic Peninsula, Dungeness Free Clinic, FEMA, Shipley Center, KSQM 91.5 FM (broadcasting from the event), Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Welfare for Animals Guild, American Red Cross, LifeFlight helicopter, Clallam Transit, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State, Clallam and Jefferson counties Emergency Management Departments, Clallam PUD, Sequim School District, Department of Natural Resources, Jamestown S’Klallam Health Services, Sequim Food Bank, Olympic Ambulance, Disaster Airlift Response Team (DART), Map Your Neighborhood, CERT, Fire District 3, and City of Sequim departments, including Sequim Police.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
