Dressed in turnout gear, a helmet, and holding a hose and a chainsaw, 13-year-old Gabriel O’Connell guessed that he was wearing between 70 and 80 pounds of firefighter equipment during National Night Out in Napa on Tuesday evening.
Napa County Fire Capt. Chase Beckman, who was helping Gabriel into personal protective equipment, said that the teenager was probably wearing 50 pounds.
Gabriel was hot inside the uniform as he posed for photo after photo, making his best modeling face and acting like he was already a firefighter.
Once he was out of the gear, he talked with firefighters and explored the fire trucks.
“It’s the stuff that I see all the time in the movies I watch,” Gabriel said. The movies, he said, are usually about police and firefighters.
Although he isn’t sure what he wants to do when he’s older, his mother, Kelly O’Connell, said that she’s glad he’s taken such great interest in the public safety professions.
Beckman, whose helmet Gabriel was wearing, said that working National Night Out, a nationwide program promoting community partnerships and crime prevention, was a rewarding experience.
“It gives us an opportunity to meet the people that we work with and work for,” Beckman said. “It’s one of the reasons why we get into this profession … we all started with an idea to help people.”
With that motive in mind, Beckman asked each child who came up to him looking to try on some gear if they helped their families, and, if so, how.
“Would you protect your family?,” he would ask. After the children told Beckman why they would protect their families, he would tell them that they have “the heart of a firefighter.”
Sam Durante, who is nearly 2-years-old, may not have had this conversation with Beckman but he did get into the firetrucks.
“He loves this,” said mom, Lea Durante. “We love all things with wheels – fire trucks being number one.”
Anytime a firetruck passes by them on the road, it’s a special day, she said. Sam loves the lights and sirens and the family will always wave at the trucks, so having Sam actually get to go inside the trucks and explore is a great opportunity, she said.
But National Night Out had more than firefighters and fire trucks. Napa Police, Napa County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, the Salvation Army and other local agencies were out in force, giving away things like cotton candy, snow cones, popcorn and hot dogs.
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It wasn’t a bad birthday for Olivia Kamara, 4, who said she enjoyed everything from exploring the American Medical Response ambulance to jumping in the bounce house.
Olivia’s mom, Sara Scott, said that it was nice to get out and meet people with all the different agencies, especially because she’s currently studying criminal justice at Napa Valley College. Although she isn’t sure what she’ll choose to do with her degree, Scott said that there needs to be more events like National Night Out so people can learn not to be afraid of police.
“Community policing needs to be done more,” she said.
Hilda Fernandez agreed that getting to know local officers and other public safety officials is really important for the community.
“I think the reason why this is so important for the community is it provides a relaxed environment for children and adults to approach us on a community level with questions and concerns,” CHP Officer Anna Paulson said.
“I’d say a lot of what we do is education. Education is provided on the roadside through a ticket but it’s also provided here with our pamphlets about the latest car seat law … and it allows us to do this community outreach and education here in a relaxed environment.”