Fire Training Facility Open House

 Saturday we headed over to the county fire training facility for an open house.

 They demonstrated a technique called "Pump and Roll" meaning the firefighter walked with the house, putting out the grass fire as the truck drove along beside him.

Can you tell it was a bit windy?

 We visited with the firefighters while everyone else headed back to the firehall.  They let the boys each spray the hose.

 The three year old thought it was fun, but he got so excited...

 

... that he ran away :)

 The ten year old took a little convincing, but really enjoyed it once he tried.

I had to go up with the five year old (I'm cropped out of the picture behind him), but I could tell he really wanted to do it, and just needed the help to be brave enough to try.  He hasn't stopped talking about the fire trucks all week.

They had burgers and dogs, with mac and cheese, french fries and coleslaw - a free feast.

 Then we went for a ride in one of the trucks.

He held onto his hat the whole way :)

 Our fireman driver was named Festus... yes, really.

 The ten year old opted to ride on the back of the cab, outside, where they had to stand and hang on.  I asked him how it was, and he said, "Bumpy." :)

 Then we took a guided tour of the burn building.

 There are only two rooms that they can burn actual fires in (due to the heat).  The rest are rigged up with a smoke machine.

 We enjoyed the tour, but after the second floor, the see-through metal grate staircases were too much for the five year old.

You can see why - you can look right through them.

 That wasn't a problem for the other two.  Even the three year old didn't have any problem with them.

 The local fire inspector was the one leading our tour.  He showed the kids the metal door prop they use to teach firemen how to enter locked buildings.

When it was all over, I was a happy camper.  I won a $100 gift card to our local grocery store. :)