At an open day, fiery fun breaks out on the topic of fire protection

When the open day began, the biggest attraction for the children was a bouncy castle, but when smoke began pouring out of a nearby building, the bouncy castle suddenly lost its appeal.

“My son was excited,” said Ryan Marshall, who attended the open house. “He came home from school with a little essay and his friends wanted to be here, so he wanted to come over and look at it.”

On Saturday, October 12, Fire District 3 held an open house to give children the opportunity to climb into a fire truck and play in a bouncy castle, but most importantly to demonstrate what to do in the event of a fire .

“It’s a great opportunity for the kids to really see what the firefighters do,” Allie Cote said, adding that this was her third time going to the open house with her son.

Firefighters first demonstrated how to put out a grease fire and what can go wrong.

“It’s about awareness,” said Assistant Chief Theodore Borges. “You don’t want to throw water on a grease fire…and you don’t want to use a fire extinguisher.”

After the grease fire was extinguished, Borges showed the children the equipment firefighters wear and explained how firefighters enter a burning building, emphasizing the importance of teamwork.

“The purpose is to show the kids that they don’t have to be afraid when firefighters show up with all their gear,” Borges said. “He’s there to help them and save them.”

Smoke rose from windows and doors in the training building behind Borges as he explained the purpose of the equipment, and as the smoke grew worse, a fire engine siren wailed and soon several firefighters were on the scene.

The team entered the smoke-filled building as flames burst from a window, a dummy was recovered and the flames were soon extinguished.

“I know the kids have a lot of fun seeing the firefighters walk into the smoke, and when we open the window they actually see the fire,” Borges said.

The purpose of the open day is not to entertain children but to raise awareness, he added.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Cote said. “It’s really an eye-opening experience for the kids to see what a real fire looks like and what the firefighters have to do to help the community.”