18th annual Public Safety Day June 8 at Kroger

By Greg Grant

The Highland County Firefighters Association (HCFFA) will be hosting the 18th annual Public Safety Day on Sunday, June 8 from noon-2:30 p.m. at the Hillsboro Kroger, 575 Harry Sauner Road.

This is a community event where the public will have the opportunity to meet emergency responders from various fire, EMS, law enforcement, and EMA agencies throughout the county, along with medical helicopters from Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus (weather permitting).

The public will be able to look at the equipment, and speak with members of these agencies. There will be activities for both adults as well as children.

Activities include:

• Safety trailer, where youths will be taught how to stay low in smoke and escape their home in the event of a fire;

• Child fingerprinting;

• DARE representative;

• Distracted driving demonstration;

• Auto extrication demonstration;

• Children will have the opportunity to spray water using a fire hose as well as view firetrucks, ambulances, police, EMA, and medical helicopter vehicles and equipment.

Pokeys DJ and Karaoke Service will be providing music and the sound system for the day's events.

Food will be available throughout the day, with proceeds to be donated to the "Dragonfly Foundation," a non-profit, Cincinnati-based organization that provides comfort and joy to children and young adults enduring cancer, and undergoing marrow transplants. For more information on this organization, go to www.thedragonflyfoundation.org

“We encourage everyone to come out and support your local public safety agencies," said Jay Post, president of the Highland County Firefighters Association.

“We hope this will be a fun and educational day for everyone. We extend a big thank-you to Brent Wilson and his staff at the Hillsboro Kroger for supporting this event, which has been held at Kroger for the past 16 years."

The Highland County Firefighters Association provides training and education opportunities at no cost for member departments and performs community service projects to increase and promote safety throughout Highland and area counties through fundraising efforts, including fish fries and the annual Kroger Klassic Car Show which will be held on July 26 at Hobart Corporation, 1495 N. High Street, in Hillsboro.

Member departments include: Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District, Highland County North, Lynchburg, Southern Highland, Clinton Highland fire and ambulance districts, Brush Creek Township Fire Department, Marshall Township Fire Department, Bainbridge Fire Department, Brush Creek Life Squad, Fayetteville Fire Department and Peebles Fire Department, and the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.

For more information, contact the HCFFA at hcffa2008@yahoo.com or call (937) 981-3394, ext. 831.