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Children clambered into helicopter cockpits and waved to their parents from inside firetrucks at Helena’s National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at Helena High School. (Reporter photos/Mackenzee Simms)

By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

HELENA – Children clambered into helicopter cockpits and waved to their parents from inside firetrucks at Helena’s National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at Helena High School.

With police cars, firetrucks and helicopters, National Night Out is a national campaign to build community and educate citizens about their local emergency departments.

According to Helena Police Department Community Engagement Officer Jeffrey Murphy, National Night Out is one of the biggest events for the department.

“National Night Out is the main night of the year where the police department and fire department can come out and showcase ourselves to the community and (display) what equipment we have that we can use to help serve and protect the citizens if they need us in an emergency or special situation,” Murphy said.

In addition to Helena’s police and fire departments, several state and federal departments attended National Night Out to demonstrate the interconnectedness of law enforcement.

“(The event) also allows us to showcase our connections with federal and state agencies as well, such as the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration),” Murphy said.

For Murphy, the presence of these agencies is one of his favorite parts of National Night Out.

“I love seeing the federal agencies show up,” Murphy said. “They’ve got some great people that work with them. (I love) seeing them connect with our community and being able to know that we can reach out to them and they can reach out to us as well to build those connections.”

But police cars and firetrucks weren’t the only vehicles on display. In addition to government vehicles, those in attendance could also visit local food trucks and peruse vintage rides in the car show.

According to Murphy, these additions are all important aspects of creating a well rounded event.

“Local Helena based businesses can come out, promote their merchandise and kind of get their name out there as well,” Murphy said. “You can’t have a good event without some food, so we invite food trucks to come. And we throw in a car show just because.”

Ultimately, Murphy was glad so many people could come out and attend National Night Out, despite the scorching Alabama summer heat.

“I think it’s worth a little bit of heat, a little bit of sweat equity, to be able to see the smiles on the kids’ faces when they’re seeing the police cars and the fire trucks and just being able to see people having a good time,” Murphy said.

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