Trip to the Fire Station

Every year, our kid's preschool takes a field trip to the local fire station.  Elvin has gone in the past with Eliana as a chaperone and has enjoyed it so much that he wanted to go with Karina this year.  Elvin quite possibly enjoys it more than the kids, learning about all the tools, gear, and capabilities of the fire truck.

The first station is close to the preschool, so the kids walk.  A bunch of parents came along as chaperones.

 Once there, a fire fighter begins the trip with a short lesson on what to do if the fire alarm goes off ("Get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1.")

Then the kids got an explanation about the various things that are stowed away in the sides of the fire truck--the ax, jaws of life, and other cool equipment.

The kids got the privilege of sitting up in the driver's seat of the fire engine.  Karina thought it was pretty cool.  The bald guy is Ronnie and he is the captain at this fire station.

 The kids then got an intro to the fire station's ambulance.

The firemen paramedics brought out the gurney and let the kids touch it.

As a bonus, they also let the kids sit on the gurney while it was going up and down.  Unlike in the olden days, these modern gurneys are motorized when going up so that firemen don't throw out their backs trying to lift patients that are heavy.  Needless to say, Karina loved it.

 And they let the kids climb onto the ambulance and walk through it to the front.

As a finale, a fire fighter (who also happened to be the dad of one of the kids in Karina's class) put on his fire fighting gear.  Partly, he did this so he could show that fire fighters can get dressed really quickly (they are allowed one minute from when the alarm goes off to when they need to be sitting in a fire engine ready to go.)  And partly they did this so that kids wouldn't be afraid of fire fighters who are decked out in all their gear plus their oxygen tank.

And the clock started ticking!  They keep their boots inside their pants so that all they have to do is step into the boots and pull of the pants!

 Then the jacket goes on...

 And then the helmet and mask.

So that was the end of another exciting trip to the fire station, which was a highlight for both Karina and Elvin.