Bob the Bear fell off the trampoline the other day and suffered a head injury.
So Brandi Sorensen took her stuffed brown friend to see a doctor. He also got to visit some nice police officers, firefighters and crossing guards along the way. Bob was just one of many stuffed bears treated at the 11th annual West Jordan Fire, Crime Prevention and Health Fair.Despite rainy, soggy weather, the event attracted a crowd of people willing to get wet to see things like firefighters climbing ladders, and a police dog named Hes.
The event, sponsored by the West Jordan Public Safety Department and the Paracelsus Jordan Valley Hospital, is a way for families to get safety tips and interact with the city's public safety personnel in a relaxed, fun environment.
In the first two hours of Saturday's fair, more than 200 children had their photographs taken and their vital information written down in booklets their parents can keep in case of an emergency.
Linda Dalley hopes the families never have to use the booklets, which meet the standards of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. But the booklets include information parents should know and tips to keep kids safe.
Dalley, a member of the city's neighborhood watch advisory board, estimated 700 children were photographed Saturday.
Bill Roskelley, the city's emergency-management coordinator, said the fair allows families to develop relationships of trust with police and fire officials. Families also get free information about things like poison prevention, 911 and hunter safety.
There were plastic police badges for children, free popcorn and even the West Jordan Fire Department cutting apart a car to show how rescue equipment works.
Aaron Glade, his sheepdog, Daisy, and his dad, David, stood in the rain to watch the "jaws of life" rip the roof off the car.
Aaron, 10, said he liked that part of the fair. However, the fifth-grader was also partial to the McGruff the Crime Dog character, who happened to be Aaron's big brother, Derek, a West Jordan High School senior.
"That was cool," Aaron said.