Learning about emergency services

Evergreen’s Activity Options visits Inter-Canyon

BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e planned encounter between Inter-Canyon Fire personnel and Activity Options participants was a win-win for all.

e participants, who are adults with special needs, learned more about emergency services, while the re ghters leading the tour of InterCanyon Fire Station 1 and activities had a chance to interact with people they serve.

“It’s good for re ghters to learn about folks with disabilities because they are part of our community,” said Kim Agnew, program director for Evergreen-based Activity Options. “It’s also really important for our folks to have a relationship established with emergency services, so it’s something they are comfortable with.” e one-hour session in July combined learning and fun, and the collaboration started when Agnew and Inter-Canyon Fire Chief Skip Shirlaw met and started talking

Jacob

Conifer about how they could collaborate.

Agnew was happy that Shirlaw jumped right in, bringing some help from re ghter/EMT Rachel Rush, Capt. Shane Buckles and Lt. Tracy Elkins.

“ ey were so welcoming, so patient, so supportive and so understanding,” Agnew said.

Activity Options has just opened a location in Evergreen with the goal to empower people with special needs and abilities to participate in activities rather than staying in a group setting, according to the Activity Options website.

Participants go to many outdoor venues in the summer, Agnew said, such as parks, the Denver Zoo, the Denver Botanic Gardens and locations in Clear Creek County. ey go shopping, and one of their favorite stops is Starbucks. At the re station, participants took turns lying on an ambulance stretcher and having their pulse taken.

“It’s a comfy bed,” Shirlaw told the group. “ ere’s a lot of stu in the ambulance to help you. We want to make you feel better, and we want you to know that once you are (in the ambulance), it’s a super cool ride.” e participants also tried on re ghting gear and watched Rush put on the entire re ghter clothing plus the air tanks and facemask. Rush told everyone as she dressed: “While we may look scary, it’s still us. It’s like a Halloween costume.”

Agnew was happy when Rush donned full re ghting gear because that can be intimidating. It’s all about familiarity and comfort. e nal and most fun activity was using water hoses to knock down cones.

Shirlaw invited the group back, saying they could learn some basic home safety and rst aid.

“We would love to be part of your group if you would let us,” he said. Rush enjoyed spending time with the Activity Options participants, adding, “It’s the best part of our job.”