Camp HERO Fosters Fun, Learning And Relationships
July 20, 2022 at 10:06 p.m.
Camp HERO Fosters Fun, Learning And Relationships
By David [email protected]
“The main point of the camp is to foster a relationship among the youth of our community and emergency services because we are staffed by firefighters, EMS personnel and law enforcement,” said Sgt. Chris Francis, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.
Shane Bucher, KCSO chief deputy, said, “The first thing we really hope is that they have a good, fun time. We’ve got a good, safe atmosphere for them. But our long-term goal is we teach some of these kids and, hopefully, if we can get a handful of them, maybe 10 kids that want to get into public service - fire, EMS or police service - when they become adults, it’s a success for us.”
Today, with things how they are, he said, it’s very hard to find people who want to get into those fields for careers.
“This, maybe, shows a different light where we get these kids at an early age that will say, ‘You know what? I want to be a fireman.’ Just because they’ve seen them spray the hose and their experience here. Or, ‘I want to be a policeman,’ because they get to see the bomb squad come out here or the SWAT Team, just so they get that interest with the kids that might be lasting on that end of it,” Bucher said.
Another point of the camp is to give the kids life skills they can use now and for the rest of their lives.
“After our first camp, we had a young man who was going home from school and his sister crashed her bike and it lacerated her arm really bad. Due to the little packets they get from EMS, he had that hooked to his backpack, he was able to get the stuff out and apply the pressure to stop the bleed. He was able to call 911 and give her aid until the medics got there,” Bucher stated.
That was an incident where a kid was able to use something he learned at Camp HERO and help someone else out, he said.
This is the third year for Camp HERO, Francis said. It began in 2019, but was cancelled in 2020 because of Covid. It was brought back in 2021 and this year.
Bucher said 110 kids between the ages of 8 to 13 signed up for the three-day camp.
“That’s about the normal. We’ve averaged between 106 to 110, that’s our normal amount. We try not to turn any kids down. If we get any late ones right there on the last day of registration, we make sure the kids get in, but we do have to cut it off after that registration date just because we have the technicalities of getting all the T-shirts, gear and all the prizes for the kids,” Bucher said.
There is a $50 fee for the camp to help cover expenses.
Between fire, EMS and police services, he said they probably have around three dozen volunteers over the three days. Camp HERO has a core of about 15 people who serve as camp counselors and mentors.
“It’s a great time. I think the helpers get just as much as the kids. The joy, the interactions we have with them. The bonds we have in a short amount of time. It’s a great time,” Bucher said.
Wawasee School Corporation donated the food for lunch and breakfast. Pro-Tech out of Fort Wayne also donated lunches.
R&G Towing & Recovery donated the car for the fire department to cut up to demonstrate extrication. Private sponsors helped cover the costs for four kids who have financial needs.
Each day has a different theme. Tuesday was EMS/medical, Wednesday was fire department and today is police.
Francis said Tuesday started out with an orientation and getting the campers familiar with the staff. Each squad has two squad leaders that are assigned specifically to that squad and there are four squads.
After orientation, there was a K-9 demonstration and a public service introduction. Following lunch Tuesday, Good Samaritan touched down and several stations were set up for the campers to learn different life-saving skills. Those skills included the importance of 911 in a medical situation, CPR, a tour of the helicopter and an ambulance.
Francis said they also had their friendly, but competitive, Iron Man and Iron Woman competitions Tuesday.
Wednesday afternoon, campers rotated between four different stations. There was the Save-A-Life trailer where kids learned how to escape out of a structure that’s on fire. At the fire extinguisher station, firefighters from Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory taught kids the purpose and use of extinguishers. Milford Fire Department had a hose station where the campers could use fire hoses, including a friendly battle with each other. The final station was provided by Turkey Creek Fire Territory, which let kids climb inside the ladder truck or ride the ladder to as high as it goes.
The Indiana State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team also was on hand Wednesday morning. “That was cool. They blew some stuff up. They had their explosive detection canine unit here as well. It was a good morning. It’s been a good day so far,” Francis said.
The water balloon fight with 9,000 water balloons took place Wednesday afternoon.
Today is the final day. It will include the KCSO Special Operations Group in the morning. They’ll then switch to golf cart impairment, which simulates intoxicated driving. The dive team will be on hand for a demonstration. They’ll work on firearm safety, and then jail personnel will give a speech about corrections and what the atmosphere is like behind bars.
The three days of camp concludes at the Blue Barn Berry Farm & Event Venue with a graduation ceremony.
Bucher said, “One of our favorite parts is when we come to graduation here tomorrow. As you see, everyone is wearing the same shirts because we want all of us to be equal - it doesn’t matter if it’s fire, EMS or whatever. But tomorrow we’ll get in our real uniforms and they’ll see, ‘OK, that’s a blue, that’s a Warsaw police officer. Or that’s a county sheriff’s officer. Or that’s a fireman from Syracuse. They’ll be able to see the position the mentor is to those kids. That’s pretty neat on that end also.”
When the kids leave, Francis said the campers should “learn that we’re here to have fun with them, also. Not everybody gets to see us on this side of it. We’re out here, we’re having fun, we’re getting in and doing the stations with the kids, joking around with them. We’re out here playing in our down time. We have Nine Square set up, a couple other activities. We’re out there playing with them. We’re sitting down having lunch with them. So, learn that we’re here to be friends and we can have fun, also, and just like today and yesterday afternoon, especially, they’re learning important life-saving and life safety skills.”
“The main point of the camp is to foster a relationship among the youth of our community and emergency services because we are staffed by firefighters, EMS personnel and law enforcement,” said Sgt. Chris Francis, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.
Shane Bucher, KCSO chief deputy, said, “The first thing we really hope is that they have a good, fun time. We’ve got a good, safe atmosphere for them. But our long-term goal is we teach some of these kids and, hopefully, if we can get a handful of them, maybe 10 kids that want to get into public service - fire, EMS or police service - when they become adults, it’s a success for us.”
Today, with things how they are, he said, it’s very hard to find people who want to get into those fields for careers.
“This, maybe, shows a different light where we get these kids at an early age that will say, ‘You know what? I want to be a fireman.’ Just because they’ve seen them spray the hose and their experience here. Or, ‘I want to be a policeman,’ because they get to see the bomb squad come out here or the SWAT Team, just so they get that interest with the kids that might be lasting on that end of it,” Bucher said.
Another point of the camp is to give the kids life skills they can use now and for the rest of their lives.
“After our first camp, we had a young man who was going home from school and his sister crashed her bike and it lacerated her arm really bad. Due to the little packets they get from EMS, he had that hooked to his backpack, he was able to get the stuff out and apply the pressure to stop the bleed. He was able to call 911 and give her aid until the medics got there,” Bucher stated.
That was an incident where a kid was able to use something he learned at Camp HERO and help someone else out, he said.
This is the third year for Camp HERO, Francis said. It began in 2019, but was cancelled in 2020 because of Covid. It was brought back in 2021 and this year.
Bucher said 110 kids between the ages of 8 to 13 signed up for the three-day camp.
“That’s about the normal. We’ve averaged between 106 to 110, that’s our normal amount. We try not to turn any kids down. If we get any late ones right there on the last day of registration, we make sure the kids get in, but we do have to cut it off after that registration date just because we have the technicalities of getting all the T-shirts, gear and all the prizes for the kids,” Bucher said.
There is a $50 fee for the camp to help cover expenses.
Between fire, EMS and police services, he said they probably have around three dozen volunteers over the three days. Camp HERO has a core of about 15 people who serve as camp counselors and mentors.
“It’s a great time. I think the helpers get just as much as the kids. The joy, the interactions we have with them. The bonds we have in a short amount of time. It’s a great time,” Bucher said.
Wawasee School Corporation donated the food for lunch and breakfast. Pro-Tech out of Fort Wayne also donated lunches.
R&G Towing & Recovery donated the car for the fire department to cut up to demonstrate extrication. Private sponsors helped cover the costs for four kids who have financial needs.
Each day has a different theme. Tuesday was EMS/medical, Wednesday was fire department and today is police.
Francis said Tuesday started out with an orientation and getting the campers familiar with the staff. Each squad has two squad leaders that are assigned specifically to that squad and there are four squads.
After orientation, there was a K-9 demonstration and a public service introduction. Following lunch Tuesday, Good Samaritan touched down and several stations were set up for the campers to learn different life-saving skills. Those skills included the importance of 911 in a medical situation, CPR, a tour of the helicopter and an ambulance.
Francis said they also had their friendly, but competitive, Iron Man and Iron Woman competitions Tuesday.
Wednesday afternoon, campers rotated between four different stations. There was the Save-A-Life trailer where kids learned how to escape out of a structure that’s on fire. At the fire extinguisher station, firefighters from Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory taught kids the purpose and use of extinguishers. Milford Fire Department had a hose station where the campers could use fire hoses, including a friendly battle with each other. The final station was provided by Turkey Creek Fire Territory, which let kids climb inside the ladder truck or ride the ladder to as high as it goes.
The Indiana State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team also was on hand Wednesday morning. “That was cool. They blew some stuff up. They had their explosive detection canine unit here as well. It was a good morning. It’s been a good day so far,” Francis said.
The water balloon fight with 9,000 water balloons took place Wednesday afternoon.
Today is the final day. It will include the KCSO Special Operations Group in the morning. They’ll then switch to golf cart impairment, which simulates intoxicated driving. The dive team will be on hand for a demonstration. They’ll work on firearm safety, and then jail personnel will give a speech about corrections and what the atmosphere is like behind bars.
The three days of camp concludes at the Blue Barn Berry Farm & Event Venue with a graduation ceremony.
Bucher said, “One of our favorite parts is when we come to graduation here tomorrow. As you see, everyone is wearing the same shirts because we want all of us to be equal - it doesn’t matter if it’s fire, EMS or whatever. But tomorrow we’ll get in our real uniforms and they’ll see, ‘OK, that’s a blue, that’s a Warsaw police officer. Or that’s a county sheriff’s officer. Or that’s a fireman from Syracuse. They’ll be able to see the position the mentor is to those kids. That’s pretty neat on that end also.”
When the kids leave, Francis said the campers should “learn that we’re here to have fun with them, also. Not everybody gets to see us on this side of it. We’re out here, we’re having fun, we’re getting in and doing the stations with the kids, joking around with them. We’re out here playing in our down time. We have Nine Square set up, a couple other activities. We’re out there playing with them. We’re sitting down having lunch with them. So, learn that we’re here to be friends and we can have fun, also, and just like today and yesterday afternoon, especially, they’re learning important life-saving and life safety skills.”
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