Saratoga recently hosted its second annual Family Safety Day, an outdoor event complete with carnival games, barbeque food, community enrichment, and more.
Members of FDNY’s Safety Education Unit as well as NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau were on hand to get to know Saratoga’s families and staff better.
As a part of the Fire Safety Education Program, FDNY brought its Mobile Fire Safety Experience Trailer to Saratoga.
Firefighters spoke about fire prevention and invited children and parents to walk through the interactive space. There, families learned important lifesaving strategies. Hold onto a wall so you don’t get lost while searching for an exit point. It’s always good to check the temperature of a door with the back of your hand before opening it, according to the fire department’s tips.
Another popular attraction was the NYPD’s rock climbing wall. Children waited their turn before officers helped them into their safety harnesses and held the ropes as they scaled upward.
Rebecca Vega, Deputy Administrator at Saratoga, sees Family Safety Day as an invaluable opportunity for FDNY and NYPD officers to engage with the children and families in the communities they serve.
“[Family Safety Day] helps reinforce positive interactions with law enforcement,” Vega said. “Especially NYPD being there with the kids, helping them rock climbing.”
She explained that with so many negative stories making the news, it is important to work toward strengthening the relationship between law enforcement officers and members of the community.
In addition to community enrichment programming, Family Safety Day had a wide array of carnival games and activities such as face painting, double-dutch, bean bag toss, and an inflatable obstacle course.
A fan favorite was the dunk tank, especially when Jodi Daniels, Director of Early Childhood Education at Saratoga, took a turn. Children tried their best to hit the lever arm, sending whoever sat atop the board into the ice-cold water below.
Overall, Vega said that Family Safety Day is an event that Saratoga hopes to continue in the summers to come.
“It’s a great experience—the kids are involved, and the families have a lot of fun.”
