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Head to Boone on Saturday to Explore This Year’s Watauga County EmergencyFest

Great fun awaits you this weekend on the campus of Appalachian State as the 14th annual Watauga County EmergencyFest returns to Boone!

Brought to you by the Watauga County Firefighters Association and other local emergency services, this free event is open to the public and promises a great time for kids of all ages.

Head to the Peacock parking lot (formerly the Raley lot) right off of Rivers Street between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 to explore local area fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, rescue vehicles, forestry vehicles, Wings Air Rescue and Med Center Air helicopters, Wilkes bomb squad, Asheville HazMat team, New River Power Company and more!

Use fire extinguishers, use a fire hose, sit in a helicopter, learn about child car seat safety, find out the proper way to put out a campfire and more.

Learn bike and pedestrian safety and the importance of bike helmets at this year’s bike rodeo. See the Wilkes Bomb Squad demonstrate bomb disposal. Watch as local agencies demonstrate vehicle extrication. New this year, check out the flying drone demonstration!

Compete in the scavenger hunt to learn all about local emergency services and you could even win a prize!

Popcorn and candy will be available by donation, and all proceeds will support the Firefighters Burned Children’s Fund.

The Boone MOose Lodge will be on hand to assist local families, emergency services agencies and law enforcement by providing free child ID kits!

Parents need only to fill out a consent and information form consisting of the child’s name, nickname, distinguishing marks, special health considerations, gender, height, weight, eye and hair color, birthday, race, parent names, phone numbers, and address. Digital fingerprints and photographs are taken and the information is burned onto a cd and given to the parents. In case of abduction or missing person, the parents will have this information to give to police, and because the data is digital, it can be distributed to surrounding agencies within seconds. No personal information is kept by the Moose Lodge or Moose International and the machines purge all data after loading to the cd or flash drive. The free EZ Child ID kit is made possible through the generous support of the local Moose Lodge #1805 and its members.

Check out Facebook for more information on EmergencyFest.

Photos from last year’s EmergencyFest by Ken Ketchie:

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