fire station fun

Another field trip!  Luke and his kindergarten classmates and the fire station - can't beat it!

I really learned a lot on this trip and the kids did too - they had some great questions for the firemen.

This small town fire station serves a really large geographic area, 10 full time fire fighters rotate on/off 24 hour shifts and they have an additional 25 part-time firemen who wear pagers and are always available.

Luke in the ladder truck

I was reminded that I need to teach my kids to call 9-1-1 (not a skill set we've spent any time working on while overseas) and reinforce that firemen and all public safety officers are here to help (also not something they would intuitively learn while living in Asia....)

This fireman was good with the kids encouraging them that "when I'm wearing my gear I look and sound really different but I'm still just me, even if I look a little scary, and I'm here to help you."

He did sound different with his mask on, and all that gear makes him look a bit more intimidating too.  But he invited the kids to gather around and touch him and all his stuff - and they took him up on his offer!

We got a fire station tour and they have some cool gear, including a boat for water rescue ("please don't play near the river unless you are with an adult and wearing a life jacket").

Grateful for these men and the work they do.  {Did you know that when I was 8 years old our house caught on fire and trucks and ladders and fireman arrived and worked hard to put it out, but not before it sustained major damage.  Everyone in the family was safe.}