Students and faculty passed through a semicircle of safety booths in Hanh Plaza on Monday as part of USC’s Safety and Preparedness Fair. In the shadow of Tommy Trojan, they learned about theft prevention, emergency preparedness and fire safety.

In the 90-degree weather, community members passed beneath canopies and tables from the Department of Public Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, Fire Safety & Emergency Planning, USC Transportation, the Emergency Medical Services of USC club and outside vendors.

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USC has held safety fairs as far back as 2007, but Savannah Gore, an organizer and occupational health and safety compliance officer with EHS, said the fair was an expansion beyond the pedestrian-focused fairs USC has hosted in recent years.

“For the last two years now we’ve been doing pedestrian safety and I think we just had interest from other faculty and staff that were just like, ‘You know, was it just for the students? We’d like to be a part of it. We’d like to have more knowledge,’ so that’s why we just decided to expand it,” Gore said.

Across the plaza, adjacent to Alumni Park, community members had the opportunity to learn how to use fire extinguishers. FSEP set up a controlled fire and allowed passersby to use a fire extinguisher to put out the small fire. The department hoped 200 to 300 students would get the chance to learn when and how to use the tool.

“A lot of times on campus, this is the first time [students have] ever moved out from being at home,” said fire safety coordinator Kyle Irving. “So there’s a lot of different responsibilities that students aren’t used to when it comes to fire safety. Every student has a microwave, every student has an oven, and so they’re pretty familiar with using them, but sometimes we walk away and we forget things and accidents happen.”

Ina Iraheta, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering who practiced with a fire extinguisher, said the experience was exciting for her.

“I don’t really know a lot about safety training so I think it’s always very useful to know even just the basics because you never know when you might need it,” Iraheta said. “In a very serious situation, we don’t have time to go on YouTube [and] search up how to use a fire extinguisher. You should automatically know how to put it out.”

Community members who visited all booths and received all six sticker stars could participate in a raffle drawing for an emergency kit. Many booths offered fliers and miscellaneous safety items.

Bella Mariott, an undeclared freshman, said she learned who to call and services offered by the University.

“I saw [the fair], and I thought it was pretty cool because I have to learn CPR and first aid for ROTC,” said Mariott, who received safety goggles and a mask to prevent the spread of illness while performing CPR.

Emergency preparedness kits were also available for sale from SOS Survival Products — which has worked with the University in the past — for individuals and larger groups.

Community members also had the opportunity to watch a DPS presentation on bike theft prevention, while EMSC taught people to use a tourniquet. DPS engaged in the University’s “We All Deserve to Get There” campaign by providing discounts on bike lights, helmets and locks at the USC Bookstore.

Adrian Peña, the community affairs & strategic communications bureau supervisor, affirmed the new campus access restrictions are intended to control the entrance to campus to only those with official business.

“[The perimeter] is not anything that’s currently impacting the ability for DPS to be able to respond to calls efficiently or to be able to make sure that we’re able to get other safety resources, like the fire department, paramedics or even our own internal campus partners to any type of emergency,” Peña said.

USC Transportation also promoted the Student U-Pass Program at the fair. Eddie Soule, the rideshare coordinator for the department, said the department has received over 8,000 applications already compared with 10,000 all semester last year due to increased outreach.