FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES
08.15.2018Story by Scott Sturkol
Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office
Representatives with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) took numerous vehicles and equipment to support the 16th annual Monroe County National Night Out (NNO) event Aug. 7 in Tomah, Wis.
Hundreds of people attended the event, which was held at Tomah’s Winnebago Park. Introduced in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch, National Night Out is a nonprofit crime prevention organization that works in cooperation with thousands of crime-watch groups and law-enforcement agencies throughout the country.
Representatives of the Tomah Police Department said local officials know it helps build relationships that help create safe communities.
Fort McCoy police and fire department support for NNO included having a technician teach about child safety seats; a bicycle instructor discuss bicycle safety; and people to coordinate Operation Family Safe, which provides free ID cards for children, said Police Liaison Robert Bills with DES.
Fort McCoy personnel provided service to 65 families for the National Night Out event, said DES Police Detective Chase Laffea, who leads Operation Family Safe for Fort McCoy. At the same event in 2017, Fort McCoy personnel provided support to 30 families.
“With the addition of an additional ID station, we doubled the children helped from 2017 to 2018,” Bills said. “This is one of the most requested services that parents ask about at these events.”
Police vehicles and equipment on display included a police all-terrain side-by-side vehicle, a snowmobile, police cruiser with new cameras installed, the Buckle Bear/remote car demonstration, and an interactive and educational display for people on proper 911 usage.
Fire department personnel set up a ladder fire truck and the department’s smoke house. Plus fire department personnel were on hand to answer questions about fire prevention.
More than 40 not-for-profit organizations also had various exhibits, information booths, and displays on subjects like nutrition, school bus safety, weather storm spotting, parenting, water safety, home electricity safety, seatbelt use, boating safety, all-terrain vehicle safety, poison control, mental health, and first aid.
