Fort Worth Fire Department Hosts Second Annual 'Touch a Truck' Celebration

The Fort Worth Fire Department hosted its second annual "Touch a Truck" event at the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex last Saturday.

According to a Monday blog post from the city, the event is held in support of Autism Awareness Month and allows families an opportunity to interact with a variety of vehicles in a calm, sensory-friendly environment.

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This year, the department filled 1,300 spots in just 36 hours. Organizers decided to break the event into two sessions in order to better control the size of the crowd and maintain the sensory-friendly environment.

There were multiple vendors, therapy centers, and other resources on-site for participants to engage with and explore.

As neurodivergent children may require more time to regulate themselves during an emergency, the department gave them an interactive experience with first responder vehicles. This should help familiarize them with the equipment, lights, sounds, and personnel they might one day see on a scene.

Additionally, this year's event included construction vehicles, tow trucks, cranes, military vehicles, boats, farming equipment, garbage trucks, and Amazon vehicles.

Kids also got to meet a few superheroes and pet farm animals from a petting zoo.

The Fort Worth Fire Department was joined in this effort by the Fort Worth Police Department, CareFlite, Fort Worth ISD, Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, City of Fort Worth, Army Corps of Engineers, Tarrant County 911, Kubota, Bobcat, Republic Services, Fort Worth's Finest Moving, Texas Towing, and NAS-JRB, who brought vehicles, uniformed personnel, robots, and boats.

"The idea is that if a child has seen a vehicle in a toy box, their favorite book or show, they will come to the event and see that vehicle in real life," said department public information officer Craig Trojacek. "This is a great experience for the kids and for their parents and caregivers to have a safe environment set up, especially for children to play and learn."