BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County First Responder Expo offers the community a chance to meet their local EMTs, firefighters and other emergency response providers.

The Expo will take place at the Buckhannon-Upshur High School from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug 20, 2023. Gloria Burr, director of Upshur County EMS, said the event gives community members a chance to meet the first responders in their community, see some safety demonstrations and have a fun time.

“The first responders and the community get to mingle, and we get to give some presentations on safety,” Burr said. “We’ll have the smoking trailer from Weston, where kids can go in and it mimics a real fire, so they learn how to get out. And then Mon Power is also going to be there to demonstrate how a transformer blows and show how loud it can be. There’s also going to be some people doing a boat safety demonstration.”

Members of law enforcement will bring the drunk goggles so people can learn the dangers of drinking and driving, along with a tow truck and a crashed car to demonstrate how bad the damage can be after driving drunk.

“We have obstacle courses, the fire trucks will spray water, the school bus will be there for school bus safety,” Burr said. “People’s Bank will be there setting up and talking about accounts for students, and then we’re going to try to show how much our equipment costs on the ambulances, fire trucks and law enforcement and their stuff.”

Admission to the expo is free, and several vendors will also be in attendance, including Jaws BBQ, Traveling Dawgs and someone selling kettle corn.

Other upcoming fire department events include the Washington District Volunteer Fire Department BBQ on Sept. 16 and the Warren District Hog Roast on Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. until they sell out.