Open House Kicks Off Fire Prevention Week

The is set to host its annual open house at Fire Station No. 1 on Sunday, Oct. 9, which also happens to be the first day of National Fire Prevention Week.

As in years past, safety education will be bundled in with hands-on activities meant to teach children and adults through interactive demonstrations and activities.

Among them are the Fire Safety Puppet Show, Stop-Drop & Roll contest and a challenge for kids to crawl low in theatrical smoke.

“We encourage everyone in the community to come out and see our open house, there will be Fire Prevention Week messages both for kids and adults,” said Fire Chief Dave Wheelock.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week message is "Protect your Family from Fire."

Wheelock said there also will be a sprinkler demonstration, a fire safety house and a 911 station.

At the latter station, children make a mock call to 911 and a dispatcher answers the phone. The dispatchers asks the kids for information normally collected during a real-life emergency call.

“This is a great way to understand if parents need to prepare their children more in the way of pertinent information such as a home address in case of an emergency,” Wheelock said.

Other planned demonstrations will include hazardous materials teams, water rescue, CPR instruction and tactical rescue.

Kids also will get the chance to spray a fire hose and slide down a fire pole.

A number of different organizations also will be on hand, including the Community Emergency Response Team, JULIE and Nicor, to provide additional safety education displays and materials.

“Our open house is a chance to showcase all that the fire rescue department has to offer the entire community,” said Deputy Fire Chief Don Golubski.

The open house will be held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Fire Station No. 1, 321 S. Buesching Road.