Safety & Fun Mix It Up at Larchmont Public Safety Day: Sept 20

by Judy Silberstein

(September 18, 2008) Police on horseback and bicycles, S.W.A.T. teams and bomb squads – that’s just part of the line-up for Public Safety Day outside Larchmont Village Hall on Saturday, September 20 from 11 am to 3 pm. Larchmont Avenue will be closed from the Boston Post Road to Cherry Avenue, allowing attendees easy movement between the Arts Festival going on next door at Constitution Park and the numerous Safety Day events outside the Fire House and Police Station.

The day combines old-fashioned fun – like crawling through a Smoke House or snacking on refreshments supplied by Larchmont’s police and fire unions - with up-dated safety tips.

“This is a new idea for the Larchmont Police Department,” explained Lt. Walter Burke, who suggested the day and is coordinating events that involve the Westchester County Public Safety Department, NY State Police, the Red Cross and the Volunteer Ambulance Corps – in addition to Larchmont ‘s police and fire departments. “The idea is to acquaint the community with all of the resources we have.“

For example, in the past, “we didn’t have a S.W.A.T. team,” said Lt. Burke. Now, there are six trained Larchmont Village police who co-ordinate S.W.A.T. functions with Mamaroneck Village when emergencies arise needing a “special weapons and tactics” response. Members of the team will be displaying their equipment and discussing their tactics on Saturday.

“Another big program that we’ve had big success with is car seat installation,” said Lt. Burke. Officer Matt Irvine and Detective Rocco Greco, both certified safety seat installers, help approximately 150-200 people per year position their child seats safely. According to Officer Irvine, “A lot of people think you throw the seat in and buckle the seat belt across and it’s just fine.” Not so: “You have to lock the seatbelt in place” or attach anchors and tethers. Typically 80-85% of seats are improperly installed – and in an accident they can become “backseat bullets” – unsafe for the child and anyone else in the vehicle.

The team will be on hand Saturday to inspect safety seats and position them in vehicles appropriately for the particular children who will be using them.

Kids or adults who need motivation to buckle-up, can ride NY State’s “Convincer” – a carnival type ride that simulates the force generated during a 5 mile per hour collision.

A separate team will be inspecting bicycles and offering safety tips. And a “helmet raffle” will offer chances to win one of ten bike helmets provided by the Larchmont Police Benevolent Association (PBA).

Parents will also be able to get their children fingerprinted and photographed, in case of emergencies, and will get advice on keeping children – and themselves – protected from Internet crime.

Meanwhile kids will get to climb through the Smoke House (and learn what to do in case of a home fire) and clamber over some of the fire department’s big rigs.

Volunteer opportunities will also abound: are you ready to give blood; join the volunteer firefighters or become a member of a Community Emergency Response Team? (See: Emergency Response Teams Coming to Larchmont? ) You can learn more or sign up on Saturday.

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