A Visit To The Fire Station

October is Fire Safety month and we always plan a trip to the fire station. We have several nearby in our community that we've visited in the past, but we have a new one that also serves as the headquarters for the local fire department. We were fortunate to get in, even booking in August.

The Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue Headquarters is a beautiful building. We started the tour upstairs in the living quarters.Each firefighter has his own little bedroom. There is a day room and living area. (Sorry, my hands were full during this part of the tour and I couldn't get many pictures.)

The living quarters have a balcony that over looks the garage. There are two ways down: the stairs or the fire pole. We took the stairs. :)

As we went downstairs, the firefighters met us by sliding down the pole.

We met on the floor of the fire station garage.

We gathered around and sat on the floor and began to talk about safety. I was thrilled that these guys really got down on the kids' level and really enjoyed teaching my little friends.

We talked about having the protective gear ready to go in a flash was important.

And having lockers to keep everyone organized was also important.

The firefighter began to dress in his gear.

We were surprised at the number of layers they wear.

We talked about how the full gear can make a firefighter seem scary, especially when he's breathing through the mask.

We practiced stop, drop and roll and stay low and go. The firefighters showed us exactly how we should react in an emergency.

Before we left, we got a class picture in front of the fire truck.

And if the firefighters weren't nice enough, they gave us really cool coloring books and fire hats to take home!

A big THANK YOU to the Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue. They do a fantastic job and are truly heroes!