3rd Annual Public Exposition Teaches Moreno Valley Residents to Stay Safe

MORENO VALLEY >> The City of Moreno Valley held its third annual Public Safety Exposition at City Hall April 2. Members of the Moreno Valley Fire Department, Police Department, Riverside County Fire Department, and more participated during this four hour event to help promote and inform residents about safety in their homes and community. During the event, visitors were able to witness live demonstrations of fire suppression and car-cutting, plus play with equipment like fire extinguishers to learn more about safety. Public safety personnel manned booths where officials interacted with residents and gave them more information about local resources available to help them be safe. Different vehicles from various departments lined the streets, including a helitack from the Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base and a Riverside County Fire Department fire engine at the entrance to the exposition that proudly waved the American flag. KOLA 99.9 played music throughout the day and brought a prize wheel, while kids of all ages received fun hats and badges from some of the exhibits. “The overall goal of the Public Safety Expo is to promote obviously public safety from all the different departments of the city, to get people exposed to what kind of services we provide as a city,” said Aaron Murg, fire systems inspector with the Riverside County Fire Department. One of the exhibits available for people of all ages to not only enjoy but also to learn from was the Emergency Response Force’s presentation on the proper use of a fire extinguisher. Milt Adams, disaster volunteer, explained that many times, people are not aware that water extinguishers cannot be used on grease or electrical fires, which are common in homes. “Many people have fire extinguishers in the home, but they don’t know how to use them,” Adams said. “The worst thing to do is have a fire extinguisher used the wrong way.” Their goal at the Public Safety Exposition, therefore, was to teach people how to use an extinguisher in the proper way. Department volunteers set up a small, manufactured grill fire in the corner of the parking lot, and visitors could step up and take turns at putting the flames out with a fire extinguisher using the methods demonstrated by the volunteers beforehand. Adams explained the proper way to extinguish is three-fold: 1) Pull the pin on the fire extinguisher. 2) Aim it at the base of the fire. 3) Squeeze the trigger. “The more people that get trained, then they know what they’re doing in case we have a natural disaster or major emergency,” he said. “We help the people at home first, and if you have the skills, you can do that with your family and your neighbors.” Adams said he has been participating with the Public Safety Exposition since before it was even an organized event. “It’s a way for us to give back to our city and it’s a way for us to help the people of the city out and better their own lives,” he said. Though it was Murg’s first year at the exposition, he said he was loving it so far. “Everybody’s been really interested,” Murg said. “It’s fun to talk with the kids. They love putting on the firefighter hats and parents love learning about how to make their home safer”. At his booth, he taught fire prevention and how to identify common household items that people may not think about as being dangerous. Checking out smoke detectors once a month, putting a fire extinguisher in your home, and practicing safe cooking measures are all preventative ways he mentioned to ensure the safety of you and your family. Families also received information on the Explorer program while at the exposition. Explorers, designed for those aged 14 to 21, teaches its volunteers discipline through learning skills like handcuffing, evidence checking, vehicle searching, and working at DUI checkpoints. “Ultimately, I think the beginning goal of entering the Explorer program is usually to get more knowledge about the police force,” said Corporate Zach Navarro, an Explorer with the Moreno Valley Police Department. “Whether or not you go into law enforcement after the Explorers, you still learn a lot about discipline.” The event was set up so that residents could loop through and check out booths on both sides of the street and in the surrounding parking lots, at their leisure and convenience. Moreno Valley residents Paola and Mario Aguilar brought their children Nathaniel, Matthew, and Jeremiah to the event for the first time to expose them to fire safety. “We are here to show the kids about fire for safety purposes just so they can be knowledgeable,” Paola said. If you missed out on the Public Safety Exposition, check out the City of Moreno Valley’s website for community training courses offered to help you become more safe in your own home.