Yuma families meet firefighters and police at touch-the-truck event
Families climbed into fire trucks and police vehicles at a Yuma Chick-fil-A, turning a Saturday parking lot event into a hands-on lesson in public safety.
The Chick-fil-A parking lot on East 16th Street became a public safety classroom Saturday as Yuma families climbed aboard fire trucks and police vehicles, met firefighters and officers face to face, and got a close look at the gear they use on the job.
The Touch-the-Truck event ran from 10 a.m. to noon at the Chick-fil-A at 1935 E 16th St. in Yuma. It gave children a chance to see the equipment up close and let parents watch Yuma Fire Department and Yuma Police Department personnel explain how the vehicles and tools fit into emergency response.
The setup reflected a simple but effective kind of outreach: not a formal program, but an easy weekend stop where children could turn unfamiliar sirens and uniforms into something more concrete. For younger visitors, the trucks and patrol vehicles made public safety less abstract. For adults, the direct contact with firefighters and officers offered a familiar setting to put names and faces with the people who may answer a call in an emergency.
Kevin Carryon, Chick-fil-A’s director of sales and brand deals, said the goal was to make the event fun for children while helping them get to know local officers and firefighters in a more personal way. He framed the effort as part of Chick-fil-A’s role in Yuma, not just as a business operating there. The restaurant says its locations are independently operated and that local operators determine community events and promotions in their own markets.
The public safety presence also carried practical weight. The Yuma Fire Department says it provides fire suppression, emergency medical response, hazardous materials response, technical rescue and community risk reduction programs, and that it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Yuma Police Department has also been leaning into family-centered outreach, including a 2026 Teen Police Academy and an autism-awareness community event promoted by the City of Yuma.
That broader approach matters in Yuma, where the city’s population was estimated at 103,559 on July 1, 2024, and Yuma County reached 217,978 in 2024. In a fast-growing community, a parking-lot event with trucks, uniforms and open access to public safety personnel offered a low-cost way to build trust where families already spend time.
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