The Miami Township Fire and EMS department will continue a tradition this month with its annual safety fair. The Aug. 25 event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Kroger store in Mulberry Square on Ohio 28, and will feature a wide range of safety demonstrations and fun activities for families.

“It’s an annual event,” said organizer Tony Romano. “The focus is we show our equipment off, but we try to address some of the safety issues in today’s environment, but make it fun for kids too. We have the guys out talking about fire safety, we talk about bicycle helmets and safety, we talk about seatbelts and do some informational things about safety issues. They can come and talk to us and look at our equipment. We’ll do a fire extinguisher demonstration and an auto extrication demonstration and AirCare will come out so people can look at the helicopter.”

The event, said Romano, is designed around providing a fun environment for members of the community to learn more about safety and safety issues. Demonstrations will include discussions on everything from bicycle safety to installing child safety seats in cars, and will stress preventative measures like the usage of gun locks.

“We’ll have clowns and face painting, just to do things for the community,” said Romano. “This has been going on for about eight or nine years. Our goal is to get people out. A lot of people don’t know what they get for their tax dollars. When they come, they can say they’ve been there and know what we do. This defines our existence.”

Romano said that the program has paid off well, in that it not only educates the public about safety, but helps break barriers between the safety services and the public. Now, he said, people who got to know members of the fire and EMS department will feel more at ease about approaching them with safety questions or issues in the future.

“This gets people comfortable with us,” said Romano. “If they see us out somewhere, they feel more free to ask us questions. It’s definitely a plus.”