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VIDEO: Emergency services showcase draws hundreds in Vernon

Attendees got an up-close look at equipment and vehicles used by a number of emergency services

School children by the hundreds came in busloads to Vernon’s Polson Park to take in the Emergency Services Showcase.

Cancelled for the last two years due to the pandemic, it’s the third time the event has been put on, showcasing the vehicles and equipment used by all sorts of local emergency agencies, including the RCMP, Vernon Fire Rescue Services, BC Emergency Health Services, Vernon Search and Rescue, City of Vernon Bylaw Services and the Community Safety Office.

“It’s just a chance for us to interact with the public, to get out, for them to meet their first responders in the community, check out some of the equipment we use, and learn more about what we do,” RCMP media relations officer Const. Chris Terleski said at the showcase.

A few kids even got to try on Emergency Response Team vests and helmets, as well as night vision goggles.

“It’s something they don’t normally get to do. When we’re responding to an emergency we don’t have time for meet and greets, so it’s a good chance for connection,” Terleski said.

Kids and adults alike could see the full extension of Vernon Fire Rescue Services’s ladder truck, as well as a demonstration of how firefighters use the Jaws of Life to extricate people from cars in the event of a crash.

Later in the morning, Police Dog Services did a demonstration of a police dog takedown in the Polson Park fields.

While the event was mainly catered toward Vernon School District students, it was open to all members of the public.

The Emergency Services Showcase is an annual event, and the plan is to hold it again next fall.

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Hundreds of students packed Vernon’s Polson Park Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, for the third iteration of the Emergency Services Showcase. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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