PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Pensacola Interstate Fair will be in its 89th year beginning Thursday afternoon. The Escambia County Fire Department is working to keep fairgoers safe.

Fair and fire department officials all say that the safety of people on rides is a top priority. The fire department's new rescue plan is intended to do exactly that.

Escambia County Fire Rescue is conducting new safety training ahead of the annual Pensacola Interstate Fair.

“The great thing about this is that when we get out here we can see how these things come together,” Lt. Daniel Mills of the Escambia County Fire Rescue Unit. “So if something goes wrong, we understand how they work.”

Two special units conducted security training on the exhibition grounds on Thursday morning. They developed plans to evacuate the rides in the event they failed.

“We know where to put our equipment and what equipment we need so we can get people down safely and efficiently,” Scallan said.

This is the first time the department has conducted safety training for the Interstate Fair.

“We didn’t do that last year,” Mills said. “This was suggested by one of our team members who noticed some events happening around the country, particularly surrounding the Zipper ride.”

Mills says the higher the ride, the higher the risk. The Zipper and the Ferris Wheel are two of the more challenging rides.

Ricky Reinhoffer is the owner of the company that supplies the rides for the fair. He says the rides have their own safety protocols. But he's glad to have fire rescue as an alternative.

“The most important thing is that we have a good rapport and relationship with the local jurisdiction so we can work together to make sure everything stays safe,” Reinhoffer says.

Scallan says special forces will be on call in case a trip is canceled – a backup that fair official Dondi Frenkel is happy about.

“We are not doing our job for the community if we do not prepare for possible emergencies,” says Frenkel.

The fair is expected to attract nearly 250,000 people over the next 11 days. Mills says they have a plan of action to get their trucks through the crowds if necessary.

The fair will be open until October 26th. To ensure safety through the end of the fair, Mills said special forces will conduct additional rescue training early next week.