On Sept. 10, Desert Canyon Elementary School invited Scottsdale’s first responders to campus to teach students about their jobs and duties, for the 7th Annual First Responder Community Heroes event.

Desert Canyon Elementary School has hosted the beloved event for a handful of years on or around Sept. 11, inviting police, fire and emergency first responders to campus with their equipment and gear.

This year, DCES’ kindergarten through fifth grade students participated in the outdoor event, that included:

• AZ Department of Public Safety
• Scottsdale Police Department
  
  • K9 units, including Rocket, the canine crisis canine stationed at Chaparral HS
  • horse-mounted PD officers
  • SWAT team and their robots
• Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department helicopter
• Scottsdale Fire Department
  
  • Ambulance
  • Fire engine
• Smokey the Bear

Following the event, a number of public entities took to social media to post photos of the event.

Scottsdale Unified School District’s Facebook page shared, “Desert Canyon Elementary School students learned today about the work of local first responders at the school’s 7th annual event honoring the city and state emergency response agencies that help protect us every day. A special thank you goes to Scottsdale PD [School Resource Officer] Fred Pera for organizing this year’s event!”

The Scottsdale Fire Department posted photos of the event, with the caption: “Desert Canyon Elementary hosted a Celebrating Heroes Day in honor of emergency responders and everyday heroes like their teachers.”

The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management thanked the school district and police department for inviting the agency to its event.

“We enjoyed meeting with the kiddos and showing off the tools we get to play with. And a big thank you to all of our first responders for your dedication and service to Arizona,” the forestry and fire management account posted, along with red and blue emojis.