Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation had the privilege of recently hosting a wonderful Fire & Safety event as a part of the Summer Adventure Day Camp. The goal of this event was to present kids with an exciting and engaging way to learn about our local fire departments as well as to teach them the importance of fire safety and what to do if they ever find themselves in a house fire.
For this event, we had one of our wonderful people from the Westphal Hose Company No. 5 fire station bring out a loaded fire truck so that the kids could learn the ins and outs of how the fire department goes about putting out fires while also giving them a chance to get up close and personal to a real-life fire truck. On top of bringing out a fire truck, the people from Westphal Hose Company No. 5 also brought out a practice smoke house. The purpose of a smoke house is to safely replicate a house fire so that you can practice evacuating a home in case you ever encounter the real deal.
The kids got the chance to experience the practice smoke house for themselves. They were able to practice crawling under smoke as if the house was really on fire as well and going to the designated family meeting spot. A family meeting spot is simply the designated place for the family to meet up together if a fire ever breaks out. In the case of this practice exercise, it was a fake tree that was set up outside.
The children also got the opportunity to sit down and speak with the real fire fighters from Westphal Hose Company No. 5 back at the fire truck. He broke down exactly what it is that a fire fighter does, showed off all the different gear and techniques they use to put out fires, and answered questions that the kids had. This combined with their practice in the smoke house ensured that all of the kids were equipped with as much knowledge about fire safety as possible.
It’s extremely crucial for children to learn about just how important fire safety is at a young age. That’s why we couldn’t be more happy with how this event went. We want to give a huge thank you to the folks over at Westphal Hose Company No. 5 for taking the time to come out and help educate kids on the importance of fire safety in a fun and exciting way.
