The Perry police, fire and public works departments are all taking time out their Saturday to inform and entertain the public.  Public Safety Day takes place in the Hy-Vee Parking lot from 10-1pm.

Fire Chief Chris Hinds say he’s looking forward to the event and says it serves a few purposes for the public.

“One thing is money.  It costs a lot of money to buy a piece of fire equipment or a snow plow, a police car or a piece of equipment the police departments use.  So it’s important for the public to see this stuff, see what their tax dollars go for.  You can find out how it’s used and what it’s used for and why this specific piece of equipment is needed or necessary for the safety of the public.”

Hinds says it’s also a good opportunity for children to see that these people are here to help them in emergencies.

“When children see us with our full bunker gear on and the air back, and of course the mask that goes along with that, we look like some kind of a space alien or something like that.  It’s important when you have a house fire or something like that it’s important that the children are not afraid of you so they don’t hide from you.  It makes it very difficult to get everybody out of the house if you have someone that is scared because they think the aliens have landed and they’re hiding in their closet or under their bed.”

Saturday’s event will include a smokehouse, car crash simulator, equipment on display and more.

The Raccoon Valley Radio “Big Red Radio” will be there broadcasting live from 10am to noon.