Butler Township first responders spend ‘Night Out’ with community
BUTLER TWP — A firetruck, a police cruiser and even an armored vehicle were sent to Butler Township Park on Tuesday evening, Aug. 5, but the only thing they responded to was their community.
The township was host to its part of National Night Out, an event that gives community members, especially children, the opportunity to meet, learn from and interact with first responders in a nonemergency environment.
Chief Mike Schmidt of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District said the event was slightly modified this year, as it was hosted at the park instead of in one of the township’s neighborhoods to create a more centralized location.
“We do this night and they take us to a neighborhood each year. Like one year we were in Meadowood,” he said. “They more so assigned us a street, hoping to get those people there. But that doesn’t really help people in Highfield or Meridian. Here, they can at least broadcast it.”
Schmidt also said the new venue opened the possibility of cooking, so the first responders decided to cook hot dogs for everyone attending. Children could also get face paintings.
At the event, Butler Township fire brought its tanker firetruck, while Butler Township Police Department brought a cruiser and Butler County Emergency Services Unit brought its armored vehicle.
Chris Kopas, a member of the emergency services unit, explained why the unit comes to the “Night Out” event with its Terradyne Gurkha armored rescue vehicle. He said the emergency services unit, just like other first responders, looks to connect with the community it serves while getting to show them some specialized equipment.
“We want people to get to see the tools, the tricks, the gear and things along those lines,” Kopas said. “A lot of the kids enjoy the armored vehicle. I mean, a lot of the parents get a kick out of it too.”
State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, and township Commissioners Jim Lokhaiser, Sam Zurzolo and Edward Natali were in attendance. Natali, who attended with his family, said the event helps the township as a whole.
“It’s a great outreach, especially for the kids,” he said. “In today’s environment, there’s a lot of anti-police (sentiment). So, we want kids to come up, meet the police and see that they’re not out to get you.
“They dedicate themselves to the community, just like the fire department.”
