Fire Station Open House
The Woodstock Fire Department held an open house and the memories of this fun outing still bring a smile to my face. It was a definite bucket-list item for Landon and the ear-to-ear grin he sported the entire time is such a precious memory to me.
This event was fantastic! We started off with a tour of the fire station itself. It was very interesting to see what the inside of a station looked like. It was a large station with two floors. The ground floor was offices and the top floor was living space. I noticed two giant fridges in the kitchen area – fighting fires must generate quite an appetite! L.J. was super impressed that there was a real fire pole.
On the ground level between the offices and the garage were the firefighters’ lockers. They were quite large and all their gear was inside. There was definitely a faint smell of smoke in this area and several of them had pictures of their family on the outside of their locker. It was touching and a reminder of how much these brave men (and women) risk protecting our communities.
After touring the space, we entered the garage for a glimpse of a huge red fire truck. L.J. was enthralled! I noticed the line for the fire hose was relatively short so we stopped at that station first. A fireman helped L.J. hold the hose and he was able to turn it on and spray it. He looked just like a real firefighter in his pint-sized suit and black hat!
Afterward we got in line for the firetruck. These photos are truly priceless. That smile on his face is not a “picture smile” – he was just in his element, blissfully happy and loving every minute on the fire truck. He sat on the passenger side, in the back with Hannah and then in the driver’s seat. Again with the pint-sized suit…I just can’t even. Perfection!
We ended our tour of the truck by ringing the bell situated on the front of it. Not quite sure why it was there, but it was quite a handsome bell!
Afterward we ventured outside to participate in some of the other activities. Lowe’s had a workshop set up and the kids could select a wooden rescue vehicle to construct. L.J. loved this activity! He selected a fire truck, of course. There were many tables set up and the sound of banging hammers filled the air. It was a very popular activity with the kids…slightly less so with their sweating parents who were hunched over miniature parts and trying to decipher Ikea-style pictorial directions. Lowe’s smartly had a giant extra bucket of tack nails at the ready…
With our fire truck constructed, it was off to the rescue obstacles. L.J. scaled a wall, shimmied through a tunnel and tried his best to drag a dummy to safety. After practicing his rescue skills, it was time for a bounce house break. L.J. loves bounce houses! He has finally grown into them; he found them quite frightening when he was younger.
By this point we had worked up quite an appetite so we fueled up with hot dogs, chips and water while we watched a jaws of life demonstration. Well, I watched it. L.J. was vastly more interested in his Cheetos at this point.
After lunch it was time to call it a day. L.J. (and Hannah) crashed before I even had the car in reverse. I have no doubt this will become an annual event for us for the next few years!
L.J. pretty much refused to take his fire suit off for the next two days – he wore it on errands (much to the delight of other shoppers), slept in the pants and was quite disappointed when I drew the line at wearing it to church.
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