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Emergency lights illuminated Calera Courtyard as law enforcement agents from across the state mingled with citizens, displaying equipment and performing demonstrations at Calera’s fifth National Night Out on Tuesday, Oct. 8. (Reporter photos/Mackenzee Simms)

By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

CALERA – Emergency lights illuminated Calera Courtyard as law enforcement agents from across the state mingled with citizens, displaying equipment and performing demonstrations at Calera’s fifth National Night Out on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

With representatives from police, fire and federal departments, National Night Out is a national campaign to build community and educate citizens about their local emergency departments.

According to Calera Chief of Police David Hyche, National Night Out allows various agencies to build bonds with citizens, so that they will not hesitate to trust law enforcement or emergency departments in times of crisis.

“National Night Out is an opportunity for the community to come out and interact with public safety professionals and see the equipment that we have,” Hyche said. “And we really love for kids to have the opportunity to have a positive interaction with us and with firefighters. If they ever need one of us, we certainly don’t want them to be afraid.”

In addition to informational booths where guests could interact with various departments, Calera’s National Night Out also featured several demonstrations.

Event organizers drove a car from a junk yard and parked it in the parking lot of the Calera Courtyard in front of a set of bleachers. Attendees packed into the seats to watch the drug dog demonstration where a CPD officer and his canine companion inspected the vehicle.

After that, the state fire department brought in an accelerant detecting dog that is specially trained to scent accelerants such as gasoline and kerosine. In the demonstration, the dog was able to detect a single drop of an accelerant in the parking lot, despite being a little nervous in front of the crowd.

In the final demonstration, the fire department utilized their extraction tools to demonstrate how first responders would free a person trapped in a car. Using their tools, the firefighters tore the doors off of the vehicle before ripping off the roof.

Hyche shared that Calera has only attempted these demonstrations once before when National Night Out occurred at the Calera High School football field, but it was far more difficult. But now that National Night Out is in the Calera Courtyard, Hyche said it was very likely that these demonstrations will become a new tradition.

“We had one of our local tow companies bring the car in the parking lot here in Calera Courtyard and it was very easy,” Hyche said. “I think we’ll be doing it again. We’ve got a pretty large crowd, pretty much a full house and I think they really enjoyed it.”

On a personal note, Hyche shared that his favorite part of National Night Out is seeing all of the agencies gathered together to interact with the communities they serve.

“For me, (my favorite part) is seeing all my friends with all of the other agencies,” Hyche said. “I was a (federal agent) for 32 years and some people that I worked with are here. Law enforcement, fire service and public safety, we’re all one big family. In an area like Shelby County, we all know each other.”

Those interested in more information on the various emergency departments that serve Calera can visit Cityofcalera.org/8/Departments.

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