MAUMELLE, Ark. — The combination of perfect fall weather and a chance to climb on fancy fire equipment can sure draw a crowd, as the City of Maumelle proved this month with its second annual Fall Fire Safety Fair.
"We're gonna get some of the firemen to get in [the dunk tank]," said city fire inspector Scott Eaton. "Of course, we'll get some of the cops in there too. Who wouldn't want to throw a ball at a cop and dunk them?"
A steady parade of people, young and not-as-young, took their turns taking their shot after sampling local barbecue or playing other games. All the money raised went to a cause close to the heart of the first responders on hand.
"Last year, we started a fund for our [police] chief, Corey Picker," said Capt. Dustin Ivey, the Maumelle police patrol commander. "I'm part of the board for our First Responders Fund. It went off and couldn't gone any better. We raised a lot of money for him and his family. He's got stage four cancer."
Chief Picker is doing much better now, but the bills piled up. To help, the department started a golf tournament expecting a dozen or so foursomes.
Instead, it drew more than 30 teams of players to Maumelle Country Club, racking up so much support that the city needed to find a place to park the money.
As they tried to devise a financial plan, an unfortunate run of bad luck hit the first-responder extended family.
"We started having medical issues for our police and firefighters, and we would find, just like anybody knows, the additional cost of not being able to work or medical bills starts to add up," said Capt. Easton. "[The Fund] was just our way to give back."
That's when local business leaders stepped forward.
"What we have now is we'll have a fund where our first responders can come in their times of need," said Brent Ashcraft, a co-owner of an investment management firm. "Whether it be a medical bill that's unforeseen, a vet bill that they can't pay, or just a personal need, we can either help them with financial assistance, or we've built a network of people that can maybe help them get something fixed."
The early returns look very good after two fairs and two golf tournaments.
"I was told we're around $25,000 raised for this tournament, which is awesome," said Capt. Ivey. "It's incredible. The city of Maumelle and the community here supports its police and fire department like none other. We are very lucky to have our citizens that really take care of us."
"Our job is simply to be their first responders in their time of need," said Ashcraft. "We just created a fund where they can come to us discreetly, and with dignity, just to ask for a little help, because they're always there to help us when we need it."