Three year old Nathaniel Elwell sits behind the wheel of a Northfield fire truck while his eight year old buddy, Evan Hallstrom looks on during Northfield's annual Safety Day last Saturday. The equipment on display came from the Northfield, Roxbury and Williamstown fire departments and was a very popular part of the event. Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News Whether you measured it by the number of people in attendance or by the number of activities offered, or just by the enthusiasm of the organizers and participants, Northfield’s annual Safety Day last Saturday was a success.

Northfield Assistant Fire Chief and the main organizer for the event Chris Alger was pleased with the outcome. “I felt that the event was a huge success. By day’s end I felt we had about 225 people attend. The events went off without a hitch and the weather cooperated,” Chris said.

There were all kinds of things for people to do and lots of events to watch during the event that ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p,m. The mood was upbeat all day and kids and adults alike were enjoying themselves.

Both the inside of the Fire Station and the Fire Station grounds were used during the Safety Day presentation. Inside the expansive bay of the Fire station several booths were set up related to all manner of safety issues and just general information. Northfield Municipal employees Phil Gleason and Pat DeMasi were on hand to explain the Ground Water Model. A very popular display that showed how untreated water travels through the ground. Angela Allen, of Northfield, was in charge of the Kid’s Safety Seat booth, another popular stop. The safety seat booth was sponsored by “Safe Kids Vermont” and the Governor’s Highway Safety Program and Angela had one main message during this year’s safety Day. “Everybody knows that little kids need safety seats but most people don’t know that children need booster seats ‘till they’re four feet nine inches tall, regardless of age,” she said. Over in the northwest corner of the Fire Station Bay the Northfield Police Department dealt with a steady stream of parents who had brought their children to get an I.D. card. Northfield Savings Bank featured a booth on youth savings and The Northfield Ambulance Volunteers had set up an impressive two table display beside the Police Department’s I.D. card station.

Mark Podgwaite of the Northfield Ambulance Volunteers explained the display: “We have two tables, one is from the Northfield Ambulance Volunteers, which is pretty self explanatory. We have an Ambulance on display outside and in here we have a variety of information on things like radon, shaken baby syndrome, and general health information. We also are doing blood glucose testing and blood pressure testing. We have been very busy,” mark said And we have one table from the Northfield Ambulance Explorers. They are a group of kids from ages 14-18 who get exposed to elements of pre-hospital emergency medicine,”

Mark stated. “The experiences they have might make them want to become EMT’s later on.”

Across the hall the Ground Water Model was getting a workout. As Phil Gleason added dye to the water at the top of the model Pat DeMasi explained where the water went to fascinated onlookers both young and old alike. Vicki Jacobs, of Northfield was watching the display with her daughters, Piper age 6 and Zoe age 5 and she was pleased not only with the Ground Water Model but also with the Safety Day in general. “I think it’s awesome. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn about what’s safe and what’s not. I especially liked the bike helmet booth.

It’s great that they hear about wearing helmets from someone else as well as their mother,” she said.

The outside of the Fire Station was ringed with safety displays and fire trucks. Trucks were on hand from the Williamstown and Roxbury Fire Departments as well as from Northfield. Youngsters could climb on the trucks and get up close and personal with the apparatus. “I think it’s fun. It’s cool that we can get in the trucks and stuff,” said 12year -old James Dopp, of Montpelier.

There were emergency rescue demonstrations and a bucket brigade demonstration. That demonstration proved to be the most popular of the day.

The bucket brigade is a timed event used in statewide competition. Six members from the Northfield and Roxbury departments took part in the demonstration, and they were able to fill a 55gallon drum with water in 57 seconds. Oh, I forgot to mention that the 55gallon drum was up on a staging about 10 feet in the air and accessible only by ladder.

When the command was given, Karl Bailey of the Northfield department raced up the ladder first. Tim Davis, of the Northfield department stationed himself halfway up the ladder so he could pass the buckets up and Ray Hudson, Brian Elwell, Nate Messier (Roxbury Dept.), and Jamie Hedding (Roxbury Dept.) cycled around from the collapsible water tank located about fifteen feet away from the ladder. They would scoop up a bucket of water, rush to the ladder, hand their full bucket up and step off to the side to catch the empty bucket that Karl had just dumped into the barrel. Then head back to fill that bucket up. Things were wet, fast and furious for about one minute. It was a fun demonstration that saw nearly as much water land on the ground as went into the barrel and the firefighters were having fun. But the guys were taking it seriously.

The kids had a chance to do more than climb on fire trucks or eat hot dogs or eat soft ice cream. They had a chance to win prizes by completing four stations such as the fire safety house and having their name put into a drawing for prizes at the end of the day.

“I want to thank a lot of people who made this possible,” said Chris Alger. “First I want to thank the parents who brought their children.

The day is for the people we help and protect. I also want to thank the members of the planning committee who worked so hard, Lawton Rutter of the Ambulance crew and Chris Quesnel from the police department and honorary member Alana Richard. They made it happen. We have been planning since March.

I also want to thank all the local businesses and people who made this possible. We really appreciate their help. I would like to thank the emergency responders for their dedication and assistance. Finally, we are proud to dedicate the day to Norwich University for their support of the services.”

In addition to being helpful to the community, this year’s annual Safety Day was a fun filled and very informative event.