As soon as our tour began, the alarms went off and we were quickly ushered into a side room so we could see the fire engine take off to help with the emergency call they had just received. A regular day for the brave firefighters, but certainly a bit scary and exciting for the group.
We then got to meet Fireman Lieutenant Gary who took us on our tour of the fire station, answering many of our questions and teaching us about what they do there.
We headed straight to the garage where a bright red fire engine awaited us!
Some of us could barely contain the excitement of being so up-close to the truck!
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| Photo Credit: Heather Abbott |
Fireman Gary showed us a lot of the important tools and components of the truck that they use during their emergencies.
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| Photo Credit: Heather Abbott |
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| Ladder on the truck Photo Credit: Heather Abbott |
Fun Fact: After the realization that cat skeletons were never really found in trees, they decided to stop using their ladders to rescue cats that were "stuck" in trees because too many fire fighters were falling and getting hurt.
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Fireman Gary even let the kids hold one of their hook tools.
Sharp tools in the hands of little ones somehow feels perfectly legit when a firefighter is around!
And then the kids got to check out the one firefighter tool that we all know and love...the fire hose!
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| Photo Credit - Heather Abbott |
Firefighter Gary even showed us how they lay out their clothes and boots so that they can get dressed super quickly when they are called for emergencies.
We learned about how some firetrucks are for pumping water and some firetrucks are "Ladder Trucks".
The water trucks carry about 750 gallons of water...a LOT of water.
The ladder trucks, require two drivers; one driver for the front and one driver at the tail end of the truck to control the back wheels, since the truck is so long.
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| Front View of a Fire Engine that pumps water. |
And after heading back inside the station, we took a peek at the firefighters' sleeping quarters, dining area and gym.
Firefighter Gary showed us how all of the stations have their own unique patch. They keep the patches for the different fire stations on display. Station 34's patch is a flaming skull, pictured below to the right.
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| Fire Stations have unique patches. Station 34's Patch is a Flaming Firefighter Skull. |
This station also has a beautiful wall mural dedicated to the tragedy of 9-11
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| 9-11 Wall Mural Photo Credit - Heather Abbott |
At the end of our visit, we were sent with little firefighter hats, coloring booklets and stickers for the kids.
Saving lives and inspiring future firefighters seems to be all in a day's work for these guys at Station 34!
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| Photo Credit: Heather Abbott |
It was a great visit to the fire station for our MOPS group!
