Emergency preparedness fair Saturday includes all of Hays Co.

With a Category 4 hurricane bearing down on the East Coast and an as-yet-unnamed system in the Gulf of Mexico possibly churning right for Central Texas, emergency preparedness is a hot topic this week.

So the timing is perfect for Hays County’s first-ever Emergency Preparedness Fair — designed to be one-stop shopping for families smack dab in the middle of September, National Preparedness Month on Saturday, Sept. 15.

“We want to try to expose citizens to as many tips as we can, and this is a better way to streamline that initiative,” Kharley Smith, the county’s director of Emergency Services, said. She said the fair will promote “dialogue,” rather than “just putting out links” for people to follow on their own. “It’s situationally-based, and we’re hoping people come out with questions and concerns.”

It’s still too early to tell where the Gulf system will end up, but last year’s brush with a stalled Hurricane Harvey, as well as the two major floods of 2015, have given Hays County residents reason to be concerned about what may arise. Smith said in addition to demonstrations on stopping bleeding, responding to an active shooter, “Take 10” compression-only CPR and the county’s standard response protocol taught in schools, the fair will have representatives of every emergency response agency in the county, along with volunteer organizations like the Blanco River Regional Recovery Team (BR3T) and businesses.

The fair will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hays CISD Performing Arts Center. Smith said in addition to supplying bottled water for the event, H-E-B is actually covering the cost of the venue, so that the fair will be at no cost to taxpayers.

There will also be food vendors on site as well as live music and drawings for “a ton of gift baskets.”

Proceeds will benefit BR3T, an organization formed in the wake of the May 2015 flood that has expanded its scope to other disasters. For example, the organization helped out after fire raced through the Iconic Village Apartments in San Marcos in July. “They’re just a general longterm recovery now for any type of disaster need,” Smith said. 

Admission is free and the event will go on “rain or shine.”