Touch-A-Truck event sparks safety education

by Adriana Gasiewski

Hinckley fire trucks, township police cars, an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser and the Medina County Police Activities League’s ice cream truck lined the driveway of the Hinckley Fire Department Sept. 12.

Inside the station, children hammered away, creating wooden objects, spoke one-on-one with first responders and explored emergency response vehicles inside and out.

Tom Spape, Hinckley inspector/educator, explained that events like Touch-A-Truck provide residents the opportunity to ask first responders questions that will help them live a little bit safer.

“Because if you don’t start to build that relationship with [the community], then things can go a little crazy,” Spape said. “We want to be a friend first, educate first.”

Christopher Sinick decided to attend the event with his children, Chase, Isaiah and Evelyn Sinick, to not only ignite their interest in trucks but to encourage them to feel comfortable interacting with first responders.

“So then if something happens, they [won’t] be afraid of the fire department or anything like that but be aware of them and that it’s all good,” he said.

The first hour of the event served as a sensory hour, allowing younger children to explore vehicles without any loud noises from the horns.

Other activities included talking to members of Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, petting horses from the Cleveland MetroParks Police Mounted Unit and learning about recycling.

Andrew Lucci, a Hinckley firefighter paramedic, helped plan this year’s Touch-A-Truck event, as he viewed the occasion as a chance to engage with the community.

“Not only for the kids, but showing the parents, and maybe the older adults in the community, that we’re invested in the safety of our township and surrounding mutual aid communities,” he said.