This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Falls Safety Fair Expected to Draw Up to 4,000 People

Falls Safety Fair will be held at Menomonee Falls High School Saturday, featuring fire safety demonstrations, crime prevention information and a special 10th Anniversary 9/11 tribute.

The Menomonee Falls police and fire departments are gearing up for the 17th Annual Falls Safety Fair.

The popular family event which gives residents a chance to meet their local firefighters, dispatchers and police officers while receiving a wide array of valuable safety and crime prevention information takes place on from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday at .

Once again, the Falls Safety Fair will feature lots of good food, music, games for the kids, safety demonstrations and plenty of interactive opportunities for people to learn how to protect themselves and their families. Those who bring two canned goods for the Food Pantry will receive a free bag of popcorn.

Find out what's happening in Menomonee Fallswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Falls Safety Fair has grown tremendously since it began in 1994.

“It started out with very humble beginnings with a single fire truck and it’s grown to the point where we fill the gymnasium at Menomonee Falls High School with exhibitor booths,” said Richard Burgess, assistant chief of the Menomonee Falls Fire Department.

Find out what's happening in Menomonee Fallswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Burgess said the fair began with a focus on fire safety, but now it’s broadened out to personal safety including identity theft, cell phone safety, and the Neighborhood Watch. The fair will also feature 9-1-1 simulator where kids can place a 9-1-1 call. The school’s south parking lot will also be filled with fire apparatus, police cars and more.

This year’s edition of the Safety Fair will begin with a special 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony in the High School auditorium.  Then, from 10:15 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. fair goers can check out about approximately 80 exhibit booths, half inside the gymnasium and the other half outside. There will also be a home sprinkler demonstration and a search dog demonstration.

The fair also feature a “D.A.R.E. to CARE” Walk to help raise funds to help keep the D.A.R.E. Program in Menomonee Falls schools for future years. The Walk will be held at the fair starting at 8:30 a.m., with walker registration taking place starting at 7:45 a.m. Walkers are asked to donate $10 and will receive a “D.A.R.E. to CARE” t-shirt for their participation.

New for 2011 will be an appearance by the Milwaukee Fire Department heavy urban rescue team, which responds to structural collapses, shores up buildings and handles tunneling. In addition, the Wisconsin State Patrol will have its “Seat Belt Convincer” display which shows what happens when you don’t wear your seat belt during a 5 mph impact.

“We also do live fire demonstrations including a side-by-side burn demonstrating the effectiveness of sprinklers,” Burgess said. “We burn a car as a finale and this year we’ll have the Flight For Life helicopter landing on the practice field next to the high school if they don’t get (an emergency) call like they did last year.”

The Neighborhood Watch program will also be on hand to dispense valuable information to help deter crime.

“People are very busy and sometimes they don’t even know their neighbors. What we’re trying to do is create an environment and interest in attending small parties where people can get to know their neighbors,” said Bill Schmitz, the director of Neighborhood Watch. “Police officers also attend, have a cup of coffee and explain what we can all do to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

The Falls Safety Fair helps support a number of vital programs in the community, including D.A.R.E., Neighborhood Watch, fire extinguisher training, “Remember When” fire safety and fall prevention for older adults, CPR classes and the Survive Alive Trailer.

Most of all, the event brings the community together for a great cause.

“We’d like to have the people have a good time, have some fun and come away with some safety tip of some sort. What that would be is up to the individual,” added Burgess.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?