Negaunee Twp.’s Nat’l Night Out a success

Families came out for National Night Out as a chance to meet their local firefighters, EMS personnel and law enforcement agencies in Negaunee Township Thursday night.

Kids were able to test fire extinguishers, ride in fire trucks, and see how EMS personnel cut open a car.

The event is all part of a way for kids, and their parents, to form a relationship with firefighters and the people who could potentially save a their lives.

“Normally if we meet people, we’re at a car accident or a fire, and things are pretty tense,” Negaunee Township Fire Department Captain Dale Rogers said, who is in charge of the department’s fire prevention programs.  “This (National Night Out) is a lot more relaxed, we get to talk to the kids, play with the kids more…it’s just a whole lot more fun.”

“Knowing the community and knowing who your neighbors are is very important.  We all work together.  If they see something, they notify us and we’re trying to save their families and everything we can do.”

Rogers said with all the other agencies participating in Negaunee Township’s National Night Out–including the Michigan State Police, the Marquette County Sheriff’s Department, and Bell Hospital EMS–it allows people to see how the agencies work together.

“The whole thing that we try to emphasize to the community is camaraderie,” Rogers said.  “We work with everybody, whether it’s police, fire, EMS, rescue units…And you have to do that.”

“Nobody single.  Everybody works together and you can accomplish a whole lot more.”

The Negaunee Township Fire Department is already planning for next year’s National Night Out, and Rogers hopes the event will grow each year.