Do your children love super heroes? Mine do.
What kid could resist the excitement of racing to the scene, gearing up in a special suit, carrying an axe, and saving innocent people?
Well, we got to meet some real life super heroes right here in DFW.
We toured a local firestation!
She Is Dallas Info: Most fire stations will offer free tours to the public but you need to call them in advance to schedule your visit. They will tailor their talk to your needs and they are always great with young children. If you want to review some fire safety issues with your children before your visit, you may want to check out these websites:
Fire Safety for Kids,
U.S. Fire Administration for Kids, and
Sparky.
We learned about all of the special gear and equipment that is carried on a fire truck. We learned about hooking up water hoses and pressure and even got to peek at the driver’s seat of the fire truck.
The fire fighters know that their protective suit and helmet may make them look scary to young children. Imagine a
scared child in a smoky room who doesn’t know what is going on or how to get out of their room. Next a big guy in a full fire suit enters their room looking like something from outer space. That child might just crawl under the bed to hide instead of run to the fireman for safe rescue. Firemen understand this so they will usually suit up to show children what they look like in their gear. This helps the children understand who is in that suit so that hopefully if they ever need rescuing they might not be quite so fearful of the fireman.
We toured inside the fire station as well. We learned that firemen often spend several 24 hour shifts at the station then have several days off work. While at the station, they have shared bedrooms. They cook their own meals and do their laundry. To entertain themselves, they have movie nights, play video games, or challenge each other to a game of pool.
We learned about the alarms and how they use maps of the local streets.
At the end of our tour, the firemen gave our kids Fire Marshall stickers and an activity book on fire safety. We all had a great time and we want to thank Fire Station #1 in Plano for their hospitality. Hint hint: Firemen like food so you might want to consider bringing along some simple treats like cookies to show your appreciation for their hard work.
Note: Be aware that duty calls and the firemen will have to abandon your tour if they get a real emergency call that they need to attend to.
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