Thorsby hosted the school’s annual Safety Day for Kindergarten to fifth grade students at Richard Wood Park on Friday.

Law enforcement and community officers attended the event and included representation from the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Thorsby Fire Department, Alabama State Troopers and Thorsby Police Department.

“It’s important to build that relationship at a younger age so that the trust factor is already there when they get older,” said Sgt. Frank Davis with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department. “Hopefully they understand that we’re just people too and we’re here to help them.”

The representatives from each department were set up at various stations, and classes rotated and spent a scheduled amount of time at every station.

A common theme throughout the day was the trust and relationships that were being developed between community personnel and students.

“To get to look at their community helpers and interact with them means a lot,” event coordinator Angie Barnett said. “Some of the kids only see them when terrible things happen.”

Davis was accompanied by Sgt. Jessica Mims with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department and taught kids about some of the circumstances encountered by the SWAT team and the tools used to combat those situations.

“We like the children to see us in an atmosphere where they’re comfortable,” Davis said. “We want to put them at ease in case they are ever in need of dialing 911.”

Kids were able to experience the aspects of the job that law enforcement and fire fighters encounter while on the job.

Students were allowed to walk inside a SWAT vehicle and were also given the chance to shoot water out of a fire hose while aiming at a target.

Safety tips were shared such as the importance of wearing a seat belt, not playing with guns and what to do if they come in contact with a stranger.

According to State Trooper Jess Thornton, he stressed the importance of wearing a seat belt in an attempt to make it natural for kids as soon as they step foot in a car.

“We work a lot of crashes, and our fatalities are up compared to last year,” Thornton said. “Unfortunately we’ve seen kids this year that have been killed because of not having a child restraint or seat belt.”

The importance of Friday’s events will not be known for quite some time, but the effort is taking place to lay the building blocks for a tight future between the community’s youth and those who swear to protect it.

“I have children and grandchildren, and I would hate for them to be afraid of the fire department or law enforcement,” Davis said.