“I love my job,” California Highway Patrol pilot Brian Henderson laughed, helping a 4 year-old boy into the cockpit of the helicopter he”s flown for the last three years. “We mostly do search and rescue and medivac work, but we also cooperate with allied law enforcement on joint missions out of our base of operations in Redding.”
Henderson, tall, tanned and cheerful, was surrounded by a cluster of kids all talking at once and waiting their chance to climb inside the aircraft. Henderson ignored the lunch brought by a fellow officer, saying he”d rather keep helping the kids as each eager child got a boost up into the leather seat at the controls, wide-eyed and intent as Pilot Henderson pointed out the buttons and levers.
Henderson is just one of the hard working men and women who give their time and their lives to protect others, appearing at the first Heroes of Health & Safety Fair, a collaboration of Lake County Fire Chief”s Association and Sutter Lakeside Hospital. This Inaugural Fair was held Saturday, Oct. 18 at the Lake County Fairgrounds under blue skies and autumn leaves.
The event came with free admission and parking, opening at 10 a.m. and wrapping up at 3 p.m. after five hours of information and activity. Two massive, shiny, fire trucks, a hook and ladder and a medical rescue truck, sat parked at the entrance gate.
Gloria Eisenman, a 30 year volunteer with the American Red Cross, helped distribute the free Emergency Preparedness Starter Kits packed with items like, purified water, a first aid kit, weather resistant flashlight, sanitizer gel and other items useful in times of trouble. Eisenman, herself a victim of flood in 1984, was helped by Red Cross and proudly wears a vest decorated with lapel pins. When asked what the pins represent, Eisenman laughs.
“Oh, I”ve been in more places than I can recall,” she said. “These pins are where I”ve served and we volunteers will exchange pins, too.”
When asked what her largest disaster site was, however, Eisenman”s sunny smile fades.
“Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas” she said quietly. “Multiple tornados. We had 8,000 victims. Used four aircraft hangars to house them all and six weeks until it was under control.”
Eisenman doesn”t consider herself a hero. “I”m just a volunteer,” she pointed out.
In movies, heroes use tools to help win against bad forces. Wonder Woman has her Golden Lasso of Truth, Thor, his mythic Hammer and Captain America, his invincible Shield. Today”s real heroes also use tools, many of them were on display for the children and families to see. The highway patrol, police and Sheriff”s Office showcased a full range of capabilities through multiple displays of their “tools of the trade,” including the helicopter and another clear favorite, a SWAT tank. Squat and wide, it anchored a long cannon-like barrel which was capped with metal closer and a yellow smiley face for bursting through structures. Adults had no chance to get past the children clambering up inside to sit in the command position.
Weaponry was impressive on a long table, with officers on hand to explain the uses and types of rifles, automatics, handguns, bullet-proof vests and shields, in use today.
CHP”s muscle motorcycles also got a lot of attention, mostly from fathers who lingered while officers pointed out the latest and greatest bells and whistles while young boys and girls tugged and pointed to the bouncy houses filled with their school friends.
In addition to pilot Henderson”s CHP helicopter, there was a REACH Helicopter, small, bright red and fast, that children also pestered their parents for an opportunity to get inside. REACH for Life offers emergency air ambulance services on a per household membership basis. People cheered and waved as the copter left the ground and zipped away as a demonstration.
At noon, the Sutter Health count of attendees reached 700 as families continued to arrive to enjoy the food, the heroes, the beautiful day and the free gifts, like bicycle helmets, fitted to each child by a Safety Hero, free photographs, courtesy of The Hero Project, who invited kids to have their pictures taken in capes against the backdrop of a telephone booth, a la Superman. Lake County Public Health provided free flu shots, The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary handed out floater vests. Americore volunteers demonstrated a useful “hands-on CPR” technique.
Many other vital service agencies talked with families and handed out coloring books, pens, stickers, and information packets.
