Kmarts throughout the country sponsored the company’s annual National Safety Weekend last Saturday and Sunday, and the Kearny store was one of the selected sites.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days, members of the Kearny Police and Fire Departments were on hand in front of the Passaic Ave. store to distribute safety literature to adults and kids alike.
And to strengthen community relationships.
The cops and firefighters manned tables piled with pamphlets on Internet safety, bicycle safety, child car-seat safety, driver safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, candles, Christmas trees, home-fire escape routes, and other life-saving topics.
There were fun items, too, like coloring sheets and Trick or Treat bags.
Officers Jack Corbett and Steve Montanino of the KPD Community Policing unit also brought along the department’s 15-foot Boston whaler, so folks could get a close-up look at the boat. It’s used in search-and- rescue and recovery missions and for patrols along the Hackensack and Passaic rivers.
Representing the KFD were Capt. Drew Mullins, FF John Robinson and FF Dave Vassie. In addition to one of the town’s fire trucks — what youngster doesn’t love a fire truck? – the firefighters had with them one of the everpopular “fire safety houses.”
The structures, representing a building with “flames” (plastic ones) ablaze in the windows, were designed and built several years ago by department members and are a hit wherever they appear.
Children (and sometimes adults) have the chance to literally knock down the blaze by dousing it with water from a real fire hose. And how often do you get to experience that?
— Karen Zautyk
