Despite driving rain, hundreds of people took part in the 7th annual Carver Night Out.
Vehicles from Carver Police, Fire, EMS, SWAT units, and equipment from all across Plymouth County flocked to the Carver Middle/High School.
“It’s amazing. We have a very strong, and good relationship with our community. We’re very fortunate that this community loves its public safety,” said Carver Police Chief Marc Duphily. “The Carver Police Union, Carver Fire, and Carver EMS work very hard to put this together. The weather didn’t cooperate today, but I think what we can see from this weather, it’s a testament to the community we work with.”
Duphily said the event is a way to highlight other aspects of police services, and not just law enforcement.
“A very small proportion of what we do on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis has to do with enforcement of law. More importantly, what we do is community servicing, community protection. We’re a part of [Plymouth County Outreach], which helps us to go out and help people suffering from substance use disorder, offer them help, offer their families help,” said Duphily. “We’ve also become part of the HUB, which is a way of bringing different public safety services to the table. We find a lot of situations, but we can’t always offer a solution. The HUB offers us a table where the people that have solutions are there, they can address the situation, and get them help.”
Despite the rain, it was a strong turnout. Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz was among those at the event.
“I think now, more than ever it’s really important for people to understand the difficult and challenging job that first responders, law enforcement, and firefighters do,” said Cruz. “I think it’s a great way to get the community out, even in inclement weather, you see a lot of people here tonight to say thank you to police and fire for the great job that they do.”
Carver Fire Chief Craig Weston says they often hire from within the community. They hope to inspire the next wave of first responders.
“It’s an important event for us and for Carver Fire, Police, EMS, and public safety,” said Weston. “The town of Carver and their residents are very good to the public safety departments. We at least like to try, once a year, to showcase our equipment, answer any questions they might have. Get involved with the kids, give parents a tour of the apparatus. It is a big deal for us.”
Weston says they currently have 85 firefighters on their staff, all from within the community.
Police and Fire vehicles arriving for Carver Night Out at the Middle/High School @959watdfm pic.twitter.com/g7pzyymzvT
— Lenny Rowe (@LennyRoweWATD) August 9, 2021
