FRUIT HEIGHTS -- After four disasters in as many years, Fruit Heights residents decided to stage a fair before another calamity develops. Actually, the city's Citizen Core Council had been planning last Saturday's event for many months, under the direction of Carol Stewart and other council members. The fair, which took place at three nearby venues, was intended to train residents in ways to prepare for dealing with disasters ranging from chemical spills to earthquakes to financial emergencies.

Residents of the city are familiar with disasters because floods, fires and the recent incident with the burning fuel tanker truck on U.S. Highway 89 have affected almost every section of the city, noted fair planners.

As a result, disaster preparation -- always a big priority with the city council and others -- has gained even more value to residents.

"We are trying to unite the community," Stewart said. "We want people to know that if there's a disaster, we will all work together."

The city has 88 CERT (certified emergency response team) -trained residents -- an impressive number for a city of only about 5,000 residents.

In a disaster, these residents would care for their own families first and then branch out to help their neighbors, Stewart said.

At the fair, CERT volunteers, wearing bright green vests, instructed fairgoers about the city's plan to help and protect its residents whenever there is an emergency -- localized to one family, or broad in impact, such as when approximately 1,000 people were evacuated in the recent tanker incident.

Fairgoers could visit information booths in the Westminster Presbyterian Church, across the street at the Fruit Heights LDS 1st, 2nd & 6th wards chapel, as well as at city hall -- all within a few hundred feet.

They sampled sprouted salads, wheat chili and cream cheese made from powdered milk and many other recipes prepared from food storage. Many people picked up free recipes.

Volunteers also helped families plan their food storage needs via a food storage calculator, which is available to anyone, free of charge on the Web at www.providentliving.com.

Two 16-year-old boys, Austin Orme and Brandon Holbrook, manned the 72-hour survival kit booth where fairgoers could gain information for assembling their own kits. Many were interested in the three-day food supply for one person, contained in a small cardboard box. It is available for purchase at Emergency Essentials for about $15.

There was also information about sanitation during a disaster, emergency cooking, gardening, first aid and fuel supplies.

At Questar's booth, fairgoers were given a brochure with a scratch and sniff sticker that smelled like natural gas and instructions on turning off a home's natural gas supply.

"I've thought about getting a generator before but had forgotten about it," said Fruit Heights resident Mike Burnett. "The fair is a good reminder because you don't think about it until you actually need it."

Davis Health Department volunteers noted that free bike helmets would be distributed to the first 250 people who arrive at the Safe Kids Fest to be held at Kaysville's Barnes Park on May 21 at 10 a.m.

Vendors sold backpacks, survival kits, butane stoves for possible use indoors, and more.

To top things off, many finished their experience with free samples of Dutch oven cooking by Westminster Presbyterian's Rev. Neal Humphries.