Wagoner County Officials Hold Emergency Preparedness Expo

Fire crews were showing off their skills Saturday at the Wagoner County Preparedness Expo, hoping to inspire the next generation by taking part in this firefighter combat challenge.

"I like it a lot because it's fun and it's challenging and the main thing is to let the youth see it because our volunteer firefighters is something that's going down," says Wagoner firefighter Dalton Grooms.

Grooms says he hopes to take home the trophy, but Saturday is really just about showing the community what they do.

"A lot of your departments around Wagoner and Oklahoma they're all volunteer departments, so we need more people stepping up to take care of that role," says Grooms.

Organizers say they want people to leave here knowing what the county has to offer the community during emergencies of all kinds.

The event was packed with more than 60 vendors along with the latest emergency equipment and the first responders who use them.

"Just to get people prepared and show the resources that we have in the county and show the resources that we have in the state," says Wagoner County Emergency Management Director Heath Underwood.

Underwood says this part of the state sees a lot of severe weather.

"We've seen quite a bit of flooding and a lot of tornadoes and lot of wind damage we seem to always get hit," says Underwood.

Osage SkyNews 6 pilot Dustin Stone even made an appearance.

"We're hopeful that Dustin Stone will make it because he's the main event," says Makenzie Stone.

As a lifelong Oklahoman and pilot of Osage SkyNews 6, Dustin has seen his fair share of severe weather and is dedicated to keeping families, like his safe.