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DALLAS TWP. — Dylan Rhoades started his afternoon on May 3 at the Dallas Township Police Department by getting his picture taken in front of the K-9 officer’s car. Then he headed for the first firetruck he could see.
The 8-year-old who goes to Wycallis Elementary School in Dallas was one of nearly 40 youngsters signed up for the first-ever open house for individuals with special needs held by the department.
All afternoon, the children and their parents created a stream of visitors in the parking lot that surrounds the brick building. Some, in wheelchairs, couldn’t crawl into the front seat of the firetrucks or jump into the back of the ambulance. Others just didn’t want to get near the equipment, but children like Dylan and his pals, Juliana Torres, 5, and her brother, Julio, 7, of Dallas swarmed in and out of the vehicles, operated sirens, tried on stethoscopes and touched some of the firefighting equipment.
They asked questions about almost everything. “What’s that for?” “How do you use that thing?” “Where’s the radio?” “What does this thing do?”
They got to climb inside the department’s emergency response vehicle. They toured the police department, got fingerprinted and sat for a moment inside the department’s holding cell.
Nine-year-old James Eckert, of Dallas, tried on a police officer’s hat, sat in the front of the police cruiser and talked to his aunt over the car’s loudspeaker.
The Popielarz children of Dallas, May, 10, her sister, Marie, 9, and baby brother 7-year-old Andrew, all covered their ears when they heard a siren for the first time.
And there were lots of comments. Mostly, “Oo-o-o-h, this is so cool!”
“When you think about it, nobody really does this for kids with special needs,” said Dallas Township Police Chief Robert Jolley. “They’re often overlooked. But these kids are just as special as anyone else and should have the chance to see the equipment, hold things in their hands, get to know the people who serve.”
Police officers are learning about initiatives being generated in Harrisburg to serve people with special needs and Jolley has conducted classes to train emergency personnel in ways to help those who might need special care during emergency situations.
An afternoon like this can also help a youngster to not be frightened in an emergency, he said.
“The idea is to let the kids see the vehicles, touch the equipment, sit inside, see what goes on – and not wait until there’s an emergency and everything is scary for them,” he said.
Jolley gave credit to the department’s clerk, Susan Maloney, the college police cadets on hand and the officers and volunteers for putting the program together and making it work.
Although one or two of the older boys didn’t want to go anywhere near the ambulance and fire truck, that wasn’t the case with the younger visitors.
Dylan, who came to the open house dressed in his very own police uniform, ran into a few of his friends, and the eight-and-under set climbed into the back of the patrol car, tried on neck braces, even got to sound a few sirens. And they asked lots of questions.
“Dylan has learning disabilities,” said his mother, Cindy. “This is a fun afternoon for him. He has wanted to be a policeman or a fireman since he started to talk, and, frankly, I don’t know if he’ll want to go home today.”
The volunteers and paid officers took on all comers with patience.
“My brother has autism. Lots of the people here have had experience with special needs in some way,” said Brian Coletti, who volunteers with the Back Mountain Regional Fire Department. “We’re kind of used to dealing with adventurous kids.”
He helped children into the front seat of the big red fire truck or let them work the siren in the much smaller all-terrain vehicle used for rescues and fires in wooded areas. And the tykes went home with coloring books and give-away bags as mementos of the day.
The adults on hand also got an introduction to the Luzerne County Emergency Management’s “Smart911” program being initiated under the guidance of the center’s director, Fred Rosencrans.
It takes about 10 minutes to register a profile by computer and add contact information, family members, health conditions, vehicles, pets in the home, any and all bits of information that might help emergency responders when they get to the scene, said volunteer Angela Manganello, who answered questions and urged people to sign up.
“We’re working hard to make sure we can respond to all emergencies and be prepared when we get there,” she said.
The point of the day is safety, said Officer Gina Kotowski, who also works as a police resource officer in Dallas schools.
“People need to understand our job, that we’re trying to protect, to keep the community safe,” she said. “With programs like this, we hope the kids come to understand what we’re doing, and know we are there to help.”