Small hands gripping a charged hose line, a cool mist drifting across the parking lot, and a steady line of kids waiting for a turn in the front seat of a fire engine — that was Saturday morning at Fishers Fire Department headquarters, where the city’s public safety agencies hosted their annual Safety Day.
The free, family-friendly event ran from 8 a.m. to noon at Station 91, 2 Municipal Drive, and turned the fire department campus into a walk-through lesson in staying safe. Firefighters and Fishers Police officers worked the crowd between demonstrations, answering questions from parents while their kids climbed on apparatus and met the crews who drive it.
Roughly 60 booths filled the grounds, staffed by more than 50 agencies and community organizations. Along with Fishers Fire and Fishers Police, the lineup has in past years included the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, MADD Indiana, Ascension St. Vincent and local Girl Scout troops, with Versiti Blood Center running a blood drive alongside the exhibits.
The hands-on stations are the draw. Children practiced dialing 911 inside a safety trailer, learned what smoke and heat actually do inside a house, and got a look at fire trucks and ambulances up close. Adults picked up practical skills of their own, including a tire-changing demonstration, and a vape awareness exhibit aimed at parents and teens. A live fire demonstration — the morning’s loudest, most-photographed moment — capped the schedule at 11 a.m.
Live entertainment and mascot appearances filled the gaps between demos, and the timing put Safety Day within easy walking distance of the Fishers Farmers Market, a pairing the departments have leaned on in past years to boost turnout.
The event lands at a moment when emergency response is fresh on a lot of local minds. Fishers and Hamilton County crews spent much of August working through historic flooding, and county curbside debris collection was still underway this week. Saturday’s crowd got a look at the same departments in a much lighter setting.
Safety Day is organized by Fishers Fire & Emergency Services as part of its community engagement program. More information is at fire.fishersin.gov.
