But that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night as a dove, which was released as part of a magic act, escaped to a tree in Snell-Crawford Park.

Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter said firefighters used a ladder to try and get the dove to safety and back to its owner.

“He went to another tree right when we got to him,” Hergenreter said.

He hopes the dove will eventually come back, as it seemed to be valuable to its owner.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Katie Deal, of Fort Dodge, along with Spencer Lara, 3, and Max Lara, 6, pose with Cellphone Sally during the National Night Out event in Snell-Crawford Park Tuesday evening. Webster County dispatcher Cierra Janicek is inside the costume.

The new fire chief admitted that attempting to rescue a bird was a first for him.

“We’ve done a few cats and dogs in tough places, but never a bird.”

That aside, Hergenreter said there was a great turnout Tuesday.

“We have our ambulance and a fire engine on display,” he said. “And then we have our fire safety house to teach children about how to escape from a building on fire.”

The house also taught kids to crawl in the event of a fire and to feel doors to make sure there’s not a fire on the other side, as well as how to not get burned by items in the kitchen.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Coy Gruenberg, 3, of Fort Dodge, attended the National Night Out event Tuesday evening in Snell-Crawford Park complete with cowboy hat and a costume police uniform shirt.

“We’ve got a steady flow of kids going through there,” he said.

Roger Porter, the new Fort Dodge police chief, was also impressed with he size of the crowd.

“We really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “We were thinking we were going to get a good turnout and it’s looking like we’re getting that right now.”

Just after 5 p.m., when the event began, there was already a large crowd in the park.

“I’m looking down at the gate and there’s still a lot of people coming in,” Porter said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Paxton Chance, 5, of Fort Dodge, tries on some of the Special Emegency Response Team gear Tuesday evening during the National Night Out event in Snell-Crawford Park.

National Night Out provided an opportunity for the public to interact with multiple public safety agencies from throughout Webster County. Besides the Fort Dodge police and fire departments, the Webster County Sheriff’s Department, Iowa State Patrol, Webster County attorney’s office, and Webster County Crime Stoppers were also there.

Activities that centered on children included a simulated jail cell.

Noah Bass, 3, of Fort Dodge, didn’t mind.

“I liked it,” he said. “And there was a key in there.”

Kids also had an opportunity to try out the gear worn by the Fort Dodge/Webster County Special Emergency Response Team when they execute search warrants. That included a helmet, bulletproof vest and shield.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Lois Wheeling, 3, of Harcourt, takes a breather on her dad, Dusting Wheeling's shoulder Tuesday evening during the National Night Out event in Snell-Crawford Park.

Paxton Chance, 5, of Fort Dodge, tried it on.

“It was really heavy,” he said. “And it was awesome.”

An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation activity featured a cutout that represented a gun that was buried underground. The kids used metal detectors to find it.

Stephen Wheaton, 10, of Fort Dodge, found it fairly easily.

“It was fun because you get to search for the gun and you have to dig it up when you hear the beep,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Fort Dodge firefighter Tom Ubben tries to rescue a dove that escaped from Larry Dunbar's magic act during the National Night Out event in Snell-Crawford Tuesday evening. The dove, unfortunately, flew away and landed in another tree. The trained bird, according to Larry Dunbar, is worth about $300.00.

While most other kids who participated in the DCI’s activity probably had never used a metal detector before, that wasn’t the case with Wheaton. In fact, he’s used one “millions of times,” he said.

“My dad used to have this friend that would bring his over,” Wheaton said. “And he’d always find, like, these toy cars in our backyard.”

Children could also test their physical abilities to see if they’d pass the fitness test to become a police officer. That included sit-and-reach, push-ups and sit-ups.

Cortney Hoover, 10, of Fort Dodge, did the push-ups and sit-ups.

How was it?

“Really hard,” she said. “And tiring.”

Hoover laughed when asked if she’d become a police officer. “No,” she said. She’s more interested in becoming a lawyer.

But her brother, Collin Hoover, 7, feels differently.

“They’re easy,” he said of the exercises.

He may become a police officer when he grows up, he said.