Jeffco Safety Fair

We went to the Jeffco Safety Fair on Saturday - it was very cool. There were so many people, we had to park across the street. There were food vendors, bouncy houses, an old car show (that was awesome!), all sorts of booths and then there was the Jeffco section. I had no idea there would be so much there.

The dogs were really great - we saw two of them, a regular German Shepherd and a pure bred black Shepherd. The first dog was a little nervous, I think, about the crowd. The trainer kept glancing at the announcer and shaking his head. The dog did well, considering, though. The guy in the Michelin man suit did well too. I think I would be freaked out. At one point, the dog grabbed his arm and the guy swung him around several times. The trainer has to work with the dogs to get them to let go.

The black dog was in the car barking up a storm while the other dog performed. I was a little nervous about bringing him out around all the kids. But he was very well behaved. It was incredible to watch him go into attack mode and then stop on a dime when the deputy called "Nein! Nein!" They have him trained to stop the attack if the officer sees the suspect begin to comply. He was a beautiful dog.

We got to see Dee. I really like her. She even remembered me. Brian will be in her class for Alive @ 25.

We got to see the bomb squad - that's a scary job. There was a robot there, which fascinated the kids. It's on remote control, has 3 eyes, a long arm and parts that move. It's on tracks and can turn on a dime. He held a small board, about the size of 3ring notebook, and pushed and pulled levers to move it for us. It's about a quarter of a million dollars worth of lifesaving equipment. For the bomb squad guys, distance from the bomb is the key. The suit was amazing. I didn't know that they have to back out of the building, since the back of the suit is not the same as the front. They said that the suit will not necessarily save their life if they are too close when a big bomb goes off. Wow!

Drew's favorite was the SWAT team. (Ok, it was Mom's favorite too!) He was very nice and explained a lot to us. Drew wanted to touch the guns, of course, but that was not allowed. There was an AR15, and I don't know what else...one was an automatic rifle, I think. We got to look at the vest, which had all sorts of goodies attached to it. He pulled out a cartridge (I think that's what you call it) for the shotgun that shoots did he say mushrooms? It's not a bullet, but has softer stuff in it, but it hits hard enough. He compared it to a fast pitch with a hard ball in the big league. What's that, about 90 miles per hour? There was a mask that attaches to an air tank, and the helmet was cool - that ought to do some pretty good protecting!

I got a good resource for drug information for my writing, and we saw some of the drug testing kits, etc. The kids got to see how finger prints are dusted for and how molds are made of footprints. One was a shoe and one was a huge paw print.

We're going to do the Citizens Academy next year. Or at least I am. It's for 18 and up. I was hoping Josh could do it, but I guess not.

We got fire safety for the kids, a 15minute lesson by a very pregnant firefighter. She was great. The trailer is set up as a 'house' where you can go through and spot fire hazards and fix them. It starts in the kitchen, then moves to the living room with a fireplace and then to a bedroom. They have a remote control smoke maker and they have the firemen lift the kids out the 'bedroom' window. She turned on the smoke alarm for us to hear. She told us that the escape rope ladders are not part of her training. They are concerned about the kids falling. Her instructions were to throw stuffed animals and stuff out the window so that when the firefighters get there they will look up at the windows where the kids can wave their arms and yell for their attention. Then the firefighters can get them out safely. Their first task when they get there is to walk all the way around the house to spot trapped residents.

I'm excited about setting up NESS with my neighbors and putting together a plan for emergencies. We had one to deal with after the safety fair - Drew fell and broke his collar bone! It occurred to me that I was uncertain where, up in the mountains, I could take him. The doctors were all out, including the chiropractors, and the urgent care was closed. I'm glad I went up to the door of the urgent care place - they had a note on the door to direct people to the other one in Bergen Park. I ended up following an ambulance, with lights and sirens.

The people at the urgent care place were very nice and Drew's clavicle is bent, not severed, so we were relieved. The only hitch was that the doctor kept trying to get me to give Drew his vaccinations...he was very disapproving of me on that regard, which I understand. Still, no thanks. Drew is doing fine, but I hate to see his left shoulder an inch lower than his right. He's in a soft brace that wraps around his shoulders to pull them back, so he doesn't hunch forward. Now we have to be careful for the next 3-6 weeks that he doesn't fall or get bumped. Heavy sigh. For Mom, I hate that this happened on my watch. On the other hand, I'm glad I was there for him. He needed his mom.