The bowling balls were rolling and strikes were plenty at the inaugural Battle of the Badges bowl-off at the Naperville Bowlero on Aurora Avenue.
The idea for the friendly competition between the Naperville Police Department and the Naperville Fire Department was pitched to the crews by the folks at Bowlero and both were game.
“So we put together a Battle of the Badges between police and fire (departments), just a fun time after work,” said Division Chief of Training John Sergeant. “Get some off-duty firefighters some off-duty police officers involved, both the fire and police chiefs are out here, we got members of our IT department, our 911 center out here, it’s just a good event to get everybody together.”
Naperville Police and Fire Departments bowl off in the Battle of the Badges
The bowl-off saw nine members of each department divided into three teams, bowling two games against each other before each team of first responders sent its best four members to a championship game.
In a back-and-forth battle, the fire department successfully extinguished the police department, winning by 60 pins.
“Bowlero was nice enough to put together some trophies for us, but the bragging rights are really what matters in this situation,” said Police Commander Rick Krakow. “In the original two games that we bowled, the pin trophies are going to go to the top bowlers in those two games.”
First responders get some bonding time away from work
The bowl-off gave the chance for both departments to enjoy some bonding time away from the office.
“I’ve been with the Police Department for almost 19 years, and coming up early in my career, the older police officers taught me that it’s important to be friends with the Fire Department,” said Krakow. “And now I’m in a position to put something like this together with the guys that 15 years ago, I was having lunch with at the Fire Department, so the relationship is really important.”
“We’re in a lot of stressful situations together all of the time, so to be out here when it’s a little bit lighthearted, hanging out together in a social atmosphere is really, really, really good,” said John Sergeant.
Enjoying some “spare” time for a first responder outing.
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