'National Night Out' brings communities and their first responders together

The weather was perfect in Mazomanie Tuesday as first responders invited the public out for the 35th anniversary of National Night Out.

The campaign, aimed at building relationships with first responders and the community they serve, not only provides the chance to interact with the community in a lighter atmosphere.

Families also get to see many of the equipment and vehicles up close.

“I think they only really get a sense through their taxes as to what things cost,” says Jim Wick, director of District 1 EMS. “So it's great that they get to come out and touch and talk to the people and actually see what's involved in the training, the hundreds of hours that the people go through to train to fulfill these positions.”

Over 120 communities in Wisconsin held events participating in national night out, joining over 16,000 other communities across the nation.