The Fire Station

Last Saturday, Daddy took the entire family down the road to the Camas Fire Station where they had a sort of "open house" for the fire department. They had fire trucks, an ambulance, and a helicopter all on display. It was a little boy's dream.

The first thing that we visited was the Life Flight helicopter. Austin has always wanted to ride in a helicopter so this was an opportunity for him to do the next best thing - sit in one.

Later in the afternoon, Life Flight was called away to an emergency so we all gathered to watch it take off. It stirred up quite a wind but was really fun to watch!

They also did a demonstration of an oil fire in a kitchen. One of the firemen held a torch into a pot of oil until it heated up to...I think it was 600 degrees. It was one of those "kids, don't try this at home" demonstrations. He showed how to put it out by sliding a lid on the pan and then he showed the consequences of trying to put it out with water. It was really amazing! The second picture, which doesn't do it justice, was taken after he poured a glass of water on it. Flames burst sky high while a billow of black smoke covered the entire area. There are some times when front row seats are less then ideal and a fire demonstration is one of them. I jumped backwards at the explosion of fire, hoped that the firemen knew what they were doing, and choked on the spray from the fire extinguisher that they used to put it out.

No, it's not a good idea to stick a blow torch into a pot of oil, that is...unless you are a highly trained professional.

Austin got to play fire chief for a brief moment. After all, aren't firemen just grown up little boys that always dreamed of riding in the big red truck with the siren blaring? Now he is really confused about what he wants to be when he grows up. Right now, he's not facing a lack of choices, but rather the sheer abundance of them.

The last demonstration that they gave was done by the K9 section of the police department. They brought two German Shepherd police dogs named Ackbar and Swift and went through the basic training moves with them. Then they showed their attack training. One of the policemen donned a special suit with a special pad for his arm while the other sent the dog after him. I sure would not want to get on the wrong side of that dog; when he bit down he didn't let go and he looked like he could make sore havoc of anything he chose to hold on to.

It was a very fun day for the entire family! The enthusiasm of the three younger ones was the best part. However, I think that there is a fascination in all of us for the heroic rescue jobs. I am so thankful that there are men who are willing to risk their lives to protect us.