Fire Station One

Last week Little One's class had their big field trip- to the fire station!  

Especially since Her grampa is a retired fire chief, this was a really cool opportunity. 

We all walked the mile there- a police officer stopped the traffic for us which was a big excitement.

VIP, people.  That's how we roll.

We got there and the kids got to ogle the trucks and get a safety lesson.  

 Then they got to get in and walk through the fire truck- very exciting stuff!  

Little Miss was there too. She really wanted to climb on the shiny truck.

We got to take a tour of the fire house and see the offices, sleeping quarters, kitchen. The firefighters leading our tour were very friendly and involved. Too bad they had the question/answer session in the hang-out room.  Um, yes.  Where you sleep is really amazing and all, but there is a GIANT TV BEHIND YOU.  The kids I talked with remembered nothing from this part except that at one point, there were kitties on the TV.  Little One (who is never allowed to watch actual TV) felt that She had been quite the rebel.  "Mama...I think so you should know that there was TV on in there!...and not easy kid TV...GROWNUP TV!...it easy had kerm-MER-shals!!"  

 The favorite part of the firehouse, by majority vote, was the red hallway.

 Grownup TV, a red light district...this is all seems to be getting a little beyond G -rating. But no, the red light is just to help the firefighters eyes transition when running to a call out of a dead sleep. Clean up those minds Peanuts!  Another big hit was when one of the moms got to dress up in firefighting gear.  At first I was all super impressed that they have to wear 100lb of clothes on a work day, but then I remembered my own job. I'm pretty sure 50lb of kids+the mary-poppins purse+groceries is not too far from that. Besides, those outfits may be hot and heavy- but they don't wiggle!  

Of course, since I typically don't carry that load into a burning building, they still win in cool points.

 The height of the trip was when the kids got to work the firehose themselves! Little One aimed the water at a cone and knocked it down.  Pretty fun!

 In fact it was so fun, that some of the parents couldn't resist giving it a try too.

 At the end all the kids cheered and lined up to walk back.  Little One was straggling, though, staring back at the firemen.  Finally She looked up at me with these plaintive little eyes. I knew what She wanted.  "Ok, Little One. Go ahead. But be quick!"

She ran back over to the guys, shyly thanked them for having us, and then worked up Her courage to ask for what She really wanted. 

 "Um, will you please give me a hug and can I please have a picture wif you also?"

Of course he said yes. When you're a hero, it's all in a days work!

We had a great time and learned a lot of interesting things about fighting fires.  And as fate would have it, the very next day we got to see that firefighting in action! Across the street from us, someone's Porsche started sending up 15 foot flames and we all walked over and stood by the engine to take advantage of a great real-life teaching moment. We got to see them use the hose, the extinguishers, and the crowbar axe!  

The best part for me was getting to point out to my girls that one of the firemen was a firewoman.  

J was worried it might be bad form to stand there staring, but once the fire was out one of the guys walked over, all smiles, to meet the kids and shake their hands.  Little One was star-struck. 

Our unexpectedly extended fieldtrip ended up being very educational.  We learned how to prevent fires, how to react in case one happens, what real fires look like and how damaging they can be.  We learned about a profession and the people who choose it.  And, one of my favorite parts? We learned that there are real-life heroes- right here among us!

And also...

...Heroes-to-be.