The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport is hosting the 5th annual Upper Cumberland EMS Expo Saturday.
Airport Director Dean Selby said hosting the expo at the airport will allow local EMS agencies to work with the National Guard on aviation emergency procedures.
“One of the things that brought this to light, the need for the airport to be involved in it, was the flooding in North Carolina and East Tennessee and how important the airports became just to keeping those communities in survival mode,” Selby said.
Selby said the Tennessee National Guard will be bringing a C-17 and other large aircraft to do demos.
Selby said the expo will have over 80 different vendors from across the state attending the expo. Selby said the event is free for the community and encourages everyone to come out. The Upper Cumberland EMS Expo will take place on Saturday, from 10am-2pm.
Selby said including the aviation aspect of emergencies will better prepare our region for a major natural catastrophe.
“That’s kind of one of the great things about this, it’s a way to come together and learn from each other and understand the process for the public,” Selby said. “Understand how all of this ties together to create a holistic safety net that we have in emergency services with EMA, police, fire rescue, fire, all of the different divisions, and how they all work together to mitigate natural disasters and large-scale events.”
Selby said he is excited for the airport to host the expo. Selby said he would be welcoming to have the expo at the airport every year to continue, including the Tennessee National Guard.
“I hope we can continue to do that because I think this could turn into a really important event for the communities,” Selby said.