Hundreds ventured to the Becker Fire Dept.on a beautiful, sunny, warm day to experience the department’s annual open house Saturday morning. Firefighters were on-hand to give tours of the big red fire engines and trucks and even give kids and their parents rides in the big rigs all around town. Many kids couldn’t escape the lure of the bouncy castle located in two of the station’s truck bays while others scoured the tables full of delicious treats, juice, hot dogs and chips.
Chief Doug Kolbinger and several of his firefighters roamed the premises, talking with citizens and answering questions they might have of what they do on a daily and weekly basis.
Other firefighters assisted the youths with firing an official fire hose of water at a makeshift “house” just outside the building.
Other firefighters sat in the trucks and instructed kids on how to use the gas masks, the hoses and what all the buttons were for on the inside of the cabs. Many kids just enjoyed sitting up higher than normal in the colorful vehicles and waving to their families through the windows.
On display in a back room were household artifacts affected by fires and printed materials educating the public on the hazards of fires and some prevention methods.
Matt Zeiszler, a new addition to the Becker Fire Dept., traversed the event with his nine-year-old daughter, Audrey, and introduced himself to citizens while Audrey tried on the gas mask, jumped in the castle and dispensed high-pressurized water through the fire hose.
Bell Zupan, 5 and her brother, Kaden (2) came to the event with their mother, Angie from Kimball. They were seen trying on firefighter’s equipment and gear with their friend Laurie Humphrey from Becker and her two children, Eli (5) and Sophie (7).
Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls — mainly to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.
The fire prevention theme for 2015 is, “Hear The Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!”
According to NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) statistics, half of all U.S. home fire deaths occur at night between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when people are most likely to be sleeping. Having a working smoke alarm in the home cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half. These facts underscore the extreme importance of having working smoke alarms in all bedrooms.
The National Fire Alarm Code® requires a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home.
