Area residents had a chance to see local and county emergency personnel in action in a non-critical situation Saturday. The Benton County Safety Fair brought representatives from city, county and state law enforcement, local ambulance personnel, an air ambulance and the National Guard to Franklin Park to present demonstrations and answer questions. The Crash Test Dummies and McGruff the Crime Dog were also on hand for the kids.

Benton County Sheriff’s Deputy Garrison Reekers brought his patrol dog, Vader, to the program. Belle Plaine Police Officer Matt Aicher donned an attack suit and Reekers demonstrated what Vader would do to assist in the arrest of a reluctant suspect.

St. Luke’s Hospital’s Lifeguard helicopter landed on the baseball diamond and personnel answered questions on the equipment and procedures for the air ambulance.

Lifeguard personnel also assisted members of the Chelsea and Belle Plaine fire departments and the Belle Plaine Ambulance Service in a demonstration of a mock pedestrian accident. In the scenario, a 10-year-old boy is run over by a pick-up truck and trapped under the truck’s rear wheels. The fire departments used devices to lift the truck off of the dummy (victim) and ambulance crews stabilized him for a trip to the hospital via Lifeguard Ambulance.

The sheriff’s department photographed children for identification. The National Guard brought its inflatable jousting pit for the young people to try.