Firefighters bring their fire trucks into the neighborhoods , give out fire hats and fire safety books to children , help with grilling hamburgers and hot dogs , assist with games while greeting the community , and have even been known to join in the fun of a slip and slide .
Deborah Henderson , past chairperson of the Jeffersonville Neighborhood Leadership Alliance , said the benefits of the National Night Out event is twofold — helping forge relationships between both neighbors and law enforcement and building relationships within the community to create safer neighborhoods .
“ With police officers and firefighters being around ,” Henderson said , “ potential barriers between our public servants and the people they serve can be diminished . They are seen not as an entity but as human beings . It brings out the best in neighborhoods . Strong neighborhoods make a strong city .”
ONE OF US : RED FIREFIGHTER HATS FOR KIDS The tradition of the JFD firefighters carrying child-sized , bright red firefighter hats aboard their trucks was started many years ago and the current firefighters have no plans to stop . The firefighters enjoy watching the faces of children light up when they are handed a hat .
Some firefighters even carry several hats when grocery shopping and hand them out . Sgt . Justin Ames said it is difficult to express just how much the firefighters enjoy watching the reactions of children who are excited about the firefighting profession . Firefighters get as much out of giving out the hats as the children do , he said .
PANDEMIC ACTION PLAN COMPREHENSIVE , EFFECTIVE When the Shelter-in-Place order was issued for Southern Indiana and everyone was told to stay put , the firefighters and other first responders continued to work and risk their own health to ensure the safety of their community .
TOP PHOTO , CAPT . PAM BLANCHARD ; BOTTOM PHOTO , LEFT TO RIGHT , FIREFIGHTERS JOSEPH DONAHUE , WILLIAM MEZA AND CHRIS MOORE WITH CAPT . PAM BLANCHARD
The first day Shawn Grant was on the job as the new fire chief , the Pandemic Shelter-in-Place order took effect and the safety of the JFD firefighters was his first priority . Grant and his administration quickly put together an incident action plan , implemented protocol for Personal Protection Equipment ( PPE ), followed mask mandates , allowed no visitors to the fire houses , conducted daily temperature checks , decontaminated everything in the firehouses , installed new ventilation systems throughout each fire station , etc .
As a result of these efforts , the firefighters were able to continue their work , with no known cases of COVID-19 in the JFD .
56 Jeffersonville Fire Department / 150 years