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Date: 8/8/2023
AGAWAM — Christina Fusick comes to National Night Out with her kids every year. They enjoy being part of the community that participates in this annual Agawam event on the first Tuesday night in August.
It was a large community on Aug. 1 — an estimated 1,500 people attended the public safety-sponsored fair at School Street Park. There were fun activities for children and informational demonstrations from first responders.
After watching the Agawam Fire Department demonstrate what’s known as a “vehicle extraction” with its powerful Jaws of Life tools, Fusick said she felt reassured.
“It made me feel safer. I saw how quickly and safely emergency responders can get people out of a vehicle with the equipment they have,” said the Feeding Hills resident.
Firefighters sliced up an old Dodge Dakota pickup truck, donated by Interstate Towing, in a matter of minutes. After stabilizing the truck, they sawed through the safety glass windshield, smashed windows on the passenger and driver doors and used hydraulic spreaders that exerted thousands of pounds of pressure to pry open the doors. Finally, hydraulic cutters sliced through the windshield post so firefighters could peel back the roof and gain access to the interior.
This was the first year Jackie and Franco Martinez attended National Night Out. Their first stop was the Agawam Police Department’s “blue wall” backdrop — emblazoned with the department logo — to take cellphone selfies with their 16-month-old daughter Ryleigh. The Agawam couple said they came to check out all the “police stuff” on display.
“We love it,” said Jackie Martinez. “It’s a good community event that helps bridge the gap between the police and the community they serve. It’s a good way to see what the town has to offer in terms of protection services. That’s important to us because we have a young child we’re raising here.”
Kids especially loved seeing all the trucks and emergency vehicles up close so they could touch them and even climb in and on them. Six-year-old Silas Arbachouskas was no exception.
When he spied a Massachusetts State Police motorcycle parked between two State Police cruisers, he asked Trooper Juan Rodriquez, a member of the State Police motorcycle unit, if he could sit on it. Rodriquez obliged by carefully lifting him up and putting him on the seat. With a huge smile on his face, Silas grabbed the handle bars and pretended he was riding the police bike.
His mother Ashley Arbachouskas said this was the second year she and her husband Matthew brought their son to the event.
“He loved it last year,” she said. “It was great for Silas, who climbed into as many cars and trucks as he could.”
The Agawam couple said one of their reasons for coming is to teach their son about safety and what to do and not to do in certain situations.
“It’s a nice community event for the community and for families. We want Silas to get used to seeing police officers as normal people who have a very important job,” his mother said.
Two Agawam youngsters, Faith Berry and Kayla De Nardo, were interested in seeing the inside of an Agawam Fire Department ambulance. They were the last ones to see it, though — as soon as they left, it sped away to respond to an emergency call. Both said they were impressed with what they saw.
“I’ve never been in an ambulance before, so I was amazed to see how much lifesaving equipment they packed into such a small space,” said Faith, 10.
Kayla, 11, agreed: “I found it very interesting to walk around the inside where they put patients. It’s much smaller than I expected — but they do have a lot of stuff to help people.”
Jessica Schmaelzle watched as her young daughters, Ella and Ava, clambered around one of the more unusual pieces of equipment at this year’s National Night Out, a boat used by the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. The Feeding Hills resident said she has been coming to National Night Out for several years.
Schmaelzle said while her kids have fun — with the free food, climbing on vehicles and picking up giveaways, the event serves an important purpose.
“It’s a good educational event for kids. They learn about the public safety agencies and get to know some of the people who protect our community,” she said.
National Night Out is sponsored locally by the Agawam Police Department and nationally by the National Association of Town Watch. Agawam joined nearly 16,000 communities across the country in hosting a local version of the event. Although the town has hosted a Night Out since 2013, this was the 40th year nationally.
Agawam Police Officer Jeffrey Hichborn, who has organized the local event for the past three years, said the weather — a sunny day after a month of mostly clouds and rain — was ideal and helped to bring an enthusiastic crowd to the event.
“I’m very happy — it was great weather and a great turnout.” he said.
Hichborn said one of the challenges Agawam faces every year at National Night Out is getting commitments from organizations and public safety agencies.
“There are at least 11 other communities in the area that have NNOs on the same night as Agawam. That makes it hard to get some of the cool stuff I’d like to have here. My goal every year is to try to cram as much cool stuff on the field as possible for the public to see.”