150 people show up for ride-along with Dickinson firefighters
A look at this year's annual Neighborhood Visit hosted by the Dickinson Fire Department.
Deputy Fire Chief Mark Selle and a young boy smile for the cameras during the Dickinson Fire Department's annual Neighborhood Visit Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park. Selle said in a previous interview that this event is "... something that we do to get out in the community and get in contact with everybody and give the kids a chance to look at the fire truck. It is a unique event that kids get an opportunity to ride in a fire truck… (It) gives us a chance to interact with the community and just talk to them and be a part of this community.” More than 150 people came out to stand in line and await their turn to ride along the block inside one of the fire department's fire trucks from 5 p.m. to dusk. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
As the temperatures dropped and rain began to settle in, families and children huddled under the tarp with a cup of hot cocoa, still eager to hop inside a fire truck and take a ride around the block with Dickinson's firefighters.
From 5 p.m. to dusk on Tuesday, more than 150 people lined up at College Park to ride along inside the Dickinson Fire Department's firetrucks during the annual Neighborhood Visit. Each year, this event attracts a large attendance, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Selle noted in a
previous interview
.
“It's something that we do to get out in the community and get in contact with everybody and give the kids a chance to look at the fire truck, “Selle said. “It is a unique event that kids get an opportunity to ride in a fire truck… (It) gives us a chance to interact with the community and just talk to them and be a part of this community.”
Many years ago, a past DFD volunteer brought this idea up to the fire department as a way for local fire service people to boost their community outreach and for the community to get to know the firefighters on a more intimate level. This event also ties in with last week's National Fire Prevention Week, where DFD members along with other local fire departments visited classrooms, talking to young students on the importance of fire safety.
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Children climb into one of the Dickinson Fire Department's fire trucks during its annual Neighborhood Visit Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park. From 5 p.m. to dusk, children and their families got to see what an inside of a fire truck looks like as they took turns riding around the block with some of Dickinson's firefighters. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
Lt. Gypsy Fouts of the Dickinson Fire Department helps with the annual Neighborhood Visit Oct. 12, 2021. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
A young girl sits eagerly to ride along inside one of the Dickinson Fire Department's fire trucks Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park as part of its annual Neighborhood Visit. The fire department gave families and children a ride around the block from 5 p.m. to dusk. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
Smiling from ear to ear, a young boy hops out of a fire truck as Dickinson senior firefighter Brad Banyai holds the door open Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park during the fire department's annual Neighborhood Visit. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
Two-year-old Elias Krohn, of Dickinson, sports a firefighter helmet before hopping in one of the fire trucks during the Dickinson Fire Department's annual Neighborhood Visit Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
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A line of people — families and their children — huddle toward the front to ride along in a fire truck with Dickinson's firefighters during the annual Neighborhood Visit Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, at College Park. (Jackie Jahfetson / The Dickinson Press)
