FD opens doors, allows residents to tour home Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 29 2009 07:39 AM By Alicia Lacy
The Cove Herald

For its third annual Open House at the Central Fire Station, the Copperas Cove Fire Department decided to change things up a little.

Instead of hosting the event on a weekend at the beginning of Fire Prevention Month, the event was held Monday to allow more residents the opportunity to visit, said Robert Martin, the department's division chief of prevention and coordinator of the event.

In addition to the date change, this year's event did not have the Fort Hood Fire Safety Smoke House and activities were held inside the station rather than outside due to the inclement weather.

The facility quickly filled with kids and their parents trailing behind as they toured through parts of the station, grabbing items promoting fire safety and prevention along the way.

"That's a big dog," exclaimed Mikey Pederson, 3, as he looked up at Sparky the Fire Dog.

Mikey and his brother Mason attended the event with their mom and grandmother.

Melissa Pederson, the boys' mom, said she brought her children to the event to learn more about the fire department and fire safety.

Sitting in an ambulance, Alastair Robinson, 7, and Sophia Robinson, 4, took turns listening to their heartbeats through a stethoscope.

The two said they enjoyed exploring the fire truck and ambulance.

Leslie Robinson brought his son and daughter after reading about the event in a flyer.

"It's something interesting for them to do and it stimulates their curiosity," Robinson said.

Similar to the open house events in previous years, children and adults learned more about the fire station, the vehicles and equipment in addition to fire safety and prevention.

Literature on fire prevention and safety that targeted adults and kids was set out for visitors to take.

Smoke detectors and batteries were also available.

Martin said the event shows residents how and where the firefighters live, and focuses attention on public fire and life safety.

Throughout October firefighters visited schools and area civic organizations to spread the message of avoiding burns, and not just burns by fire.

Martin said burns can be caused by hot water, electrical items or freeze burns, "it's not just through fire."

Fire Prevention Month is a national campaign to raise awareness about fire safety.

The National Fire Prevention Association's theme for this year's fire prevention month is "Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned."

Contact Alicia Lacy at alacy@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7476.