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Salt Lake County Hosts Free Preparedness Expo Friday

Bob Nelson

The Salt Lake County Emergency Preparedness Expo is going on until 8 this evening at the South Towne Expo Center. Jeff Graviet is the Emergency Services Director for Salt Lake County. He says it is important that at least once a year residents assess how prepared they for unforeseen disasters.

“In a major disaster, help is not going to be a phone call away. You’re going to have to be self-sufficient for a little while because frankly first responders are going to be busy assessing the situation, prioritizing, live saving, life safety, and incident stabilization,” says Graviet.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams says generally speaking, Utahns are well prepared.

Credit Bob Nelson
The Utah National Guard and the American Red Cross simulate emergency shelter for visitors who can go through a mock "check-in" procedure inside the Expo.

“But part of being prepared is always honing those skills and thinking it through as life circumstances change, because your kids get older, you know your preparedness plan needs to evolve and adapt,” says McAdams.

This year County Animal Services is part of the Expo. McAdams says as more residents adopt animals, pets become part of planning for emergencies.

The Expo is free and open to the public. The American Red Cross and the Utah National Guard are also supporting the event.

Bob Nelson is a graduate of the University of Utah with a BA in mass communications. He began his radio career at KUER in 1978 when it was still in Kingsbury Hall. That’s also where he met his wife, Maria Shilaos, in 1981. Bob left KUER for commercial radio where he worked for 25 years, and he is thrilled to be back at KUER. Bob and his family are part of an explorer group, fondly known as The Hordes and Masses, which has been seeking out ghost towns and little-known places in Utah for more than twenty years.
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