PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Pete Police are gearing up for a busy and hot weekend!
The annual pride parade is happening along Bayshore Drive on Saturday and the message from law enforcement is safety.
In May, the FBI released a public statement, warning of potential attacks on LGBTQ-focused events for the month of June.
"Having messages like this from wherever they may be coming from, it is incredibly disheartening, you know. I'm a new dad, so I'm more sensitive now than ever before to making sure that everyone who comes to that event makes it home," said Dr. Byron Green-Calisch with St. Pete Pride.
Officials said right now there are no credible threats to St. Pete Pride festivities…but police said they are preparing for all possible issues.
"We are prepared for a Band-aid all the way to a catastrophic event, so know that you should feel safe," said Lt. Garth Swingle with St. Pete Fire Rescue.
There will be one entry point to the parade with security and metal detectors.
"We will also bring in surveillance equipment so we can monitor people on the cameras and we will have our license plate reader out there… so if something does happen we have a way to track what happened before the incident and prior to the incident," said Anthony Holloway, St. Petersburg Police Chief.
Officials said if you see something concerning, you should let an officer know.
"Please do not be that person that says 'I should have.' Don't be 'I should have'— just do it. Because we don't want you to be that person who should have called," said Chief Holloway.
Another big focus for emergency crews is the heat.
St. Pete Fire Rescue leaders said during last year's parade, they helped more than 80 people during the pride parade, half of those were heat related issues.
"We have multiple cooling tents throughout the parade route, we have multiple crews, medical crews that will be strategically staged throughout the parade route so we can get around," said Lt. Garth Swingle with St. Pete Fire Rescue.
Candi Kinnett works at a chocolate shop called Sweet Divas Chocolates in St. Petersburg and is looking forward to the St. Pete Pride parade this Saturday.
"It's just a sense of community, it's very important, we love all the people. Everyone is happy," said Kinnett.
Kinnett said she will be reminding people of safety precautions when she can.
"Always look out of reach other. Just keep your eye out. Everyone is out to have a good time," said Kinnett.
Back-to-back storm events brought record storm surge, rainfall and winds to the Tampa Bay region. The question some are asking now isn’t where people should rebuild, but where we should let nature regain control.
