Decked out in distinctive aprons and sporting red or yellow plastic firefighter helmets, a steady stream of youths, and sometimes adults, couldn’t resist the lure of the Santa Maria Police Department motorcycles.
That was one of the many attractions at the National Night Out event held Tuesday at the Santa Maria Fairpark and organized by the city’s Police Department.
Inside the fairpark’s entrance, firefighters demonstrated using power tools on a crumpled car.
Nearby, American Medical Response paramedics provided lifesaving lessons to people of all ages, many of whom knelt down to deliver CPR to one of four dummies acting as patients.
“It gets tiring, doesn’t it?,” paramedic Adrian Stout asked as one girl administered CPR.
“I think I’ll stop,” Adilene Ruvalcaba, 10, of Santa Maria said after performing chest compressions for several minutes.
“Push as hard as you guys can,” Stout told another, reminding them to call 911 so firefighters and ambulance personnel can arrive to take over the lifesaving help in a real emergency.
“Hopefully, you guys will never have it use it,” Stout said of their new skills.
Law enforcement agencies, other first responders and nonprofit organizations set up shop while several businesses also had booths to offer free food, beverages, and arts and crafts at the fairgrounds.
Santa Maria’s was one of at least four National Night Out events in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday. The Lompoc Police Department held a similar gathering at El Camino School, 320 North J St.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office held a block party in Carpinteria in the 800 block of Linden Avenue on Tuesday as various members of the agency, including a canine unit, custody deputies and others, were on hand.
In Santa Barbara, the Police Department partnered with the city Fire Department and others for an event at Yona Redz.
For decades, law enforcement agencies across the country have held National Night Out events in August for an annual community-building campaign aimed at making neighborhoods safer.
On Tuesday, Santa Maria Councilman Mike Cordero, a retired police lieutenant, watched from a bench as hundreds of attendees took in the various activities.
“I think it’s great. It’s grown exponentially every year for years,” Cordero said, noting the variety of nonprofit organizations providing assorted information. “That’s certainly a main motivator, to spread the information and get people to report crimes and become allies to law enforcement.”
The free event aimed at families focuses on allowing residents, both adults and children, and law enforcement members to interact in a relaxed setting, Chief Marc Schneider said.
“Obviously, that’s important — to see us in a different role where they can talk and not be in an enforcement role,” he said.
Santa Maria firefighters, California Highway Patrol officers, Vandenberg Space Force Base security forces airmen, AMR ambulance personnel, military recruiters and others were on hand along with representatives of the county District Attorney’s Office and Probation Office.
“It’s just a nice opportunity for kids to see something maybe they wouldn’t see in their normal day to day, and something might pique their interest that they want to do later in life,” Schneider said. “For now, they’re just coming out having good time, relaxing.”
This is the second year Santa Maria’s National Night Out event has been held at the fairpark after previously taking place at various parks in the city.
At the Santa Maria police booth, youths happily tried on various gear to pose for pictures, including with a riot shield, helmets and bulletproof vests that often swallowed the young wearers. Others proudly wore Home Depot aprons after participating in the activity offered by the home improvement store.
Sticky hands or not and sometimes with a sucker held in their mouths, youngsters happily hopped atop the motorcycles, with more than one wearing a plastic fire helmet given out at the event.
“I don’t know if I like that,” one officer joked.