Bet you never saw dogs wearing swim goggles.

Two dogs black and white Newfoundlands were wearing goggles Saturday at Mauch Chunk Lake Park. They weren’t just any ordinary goggles. They were custom-fitted for the dogs. One pair had printed in large letters: “I jump out of helicopters.”

“It’s true,” said handler George Abraham of Scranton. “Oakley is a certified Level 3 certified American Academy of Canine Water Rescue Dog” and part of his training was working from helicopters.

The two dogs were among a multitude of the safety-themed attractions at Community Safety Day at the park.

The four-hour event, which attracted several hundred people, was sponsored by Carbon County Kids Zone in conjunction with state Sen. David Argall, state Rep. Doyle Heffley and the Carbon County Commissioners.

The Safety Day was an annual event before COVID. Because of the pandemic, there had been a two-year hiatus.

There was plenty to see and do, especially for children. Two medical helicopters landed and displayed their equipment to visitors, numerous fire departments had apparatus, equipment and handouts.

A police officer gave simulated sobriety field tests, Lehighton Ambulance Association had free items in addition to showing individuals the proper method of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

Community Safety Day was free. Children registered as soon as they entered and were given a tote bag go collect the handouts of crayons, coloring books, educational literature and even sunglasses.

Usually, the helicopters and the fire trucks seem to draw the most spectators at such events, but the two Newfies seemed to have stole the show as a large crowd gathered on the beach for their water rescue demonstrations.

Oakley was the older of the two dogs. The other, Kelby, is still a pup and did not participate except as an educational prop (as well as for petting) for the inquisitive.

There were three rounds of rescue operations by Oakley.

In the first. he swam about 40 yards offshore to someone pretended to be in trouble. Oakley grabbed an object the person was holding and pulled her to shore.

In another demonstration, a boat with three people was in trouble. Oakley was led to the boat by Abraham, put his muscular jaws around a rope, and effortlessly pulled the boat to shallow water. The boat was a craft of the water rescue division of Lehighton Fire Department.

Finally, Oakley was taken to deeper water on the boat. Upon command, the dog leaped into the water to “rescue” two people. The trio formed a human triangle and were led to safety by the rescue dog.

“That’s incredible,” said Ryan Jones of Forest Inn. “I’ve heard about how Newfies and their rescue capabilities but this is the first time I’ve seen it. They’re remarkable dogs; very impressive.”

For visitors to the Safety Day, there was much to impress them.

The two medical helicopters were LifeFlight from Lehigh Valley Hospital and a chopper from Geisinger-St. Luke’s. The flight crew and paramedics answered questions and allowed youngsters inside the craft.

St. Luke’s Hospital Center also had personnel at a booth where they demonstrated applying tourniquets on arms. Stephanie Noll, one of the employees on hand, also had free items for the visitors including T-shirts, Band-Aids, COVID-19 testing kits and coloring books.

PathStone Head Start had a booth promoting sun safety. Besides safety literature, they handed out free pairs of sunglasses.

The Lehighton Ambulance Association had a vinyl dummy for visitors to see a CPR demonstration. Dawn Benner, an ambulance attendant, gave away coloring books, lanyards and other items. She even offered Narcan to adults in case they even have to provide emergency treatment.

“Anything we can do to try to help the community we will,” she said.

Jim Thorpe Chief of Police Joseph Schatz administered sobriety tests for children, having them wear special glasses as they tried to walk in a straight line.

Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek said of the Safety Day event, “It’s great for the community. It’s good for the youngsters to see what first responders and safety personnel do every day. Hopefully it will help to keep our communities safe.”

“I’m just thrilled to see it back after the COVID interruption,” said Sen. Argall. “I think the kids that are here are learning something and having a good time.”

Carbon County Commissioner Rocky Ahner said, “We actually had a pre-drill at our office building in the county. It went well but people took it lightly. We’re doing this in case there is some type of emergency.”

He said, “There are two types of lives you want to save in an emergency. One is the public’s. Two is the first responders that come to save you. We want everybody to support their first responders.”