Three La Grange children will again get their names emblazoned on the passenger side windows of the Fire Department's two engines and ladder truck after next weekend's Fire Prevention Week Open House.
The names of winners, culled from entries in a first to third grade coloring contest, will be announced during the open house, to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Fire Station, on Burlington Avenue between Ashland and Kensington avenues.
In addition to getting their first name and last initial and grade level set in a decal on the firetruck windows for a full year, mb financial of La Grange will provide each child a $25 U.S. Savings bond.
Because of insurance liability issues, children can no longer climb on firetrucks like they did back in the day. So after the firetrucks get the name decals pasted on them, each child's family is invited to the station to take pictures with their kids by the truck with their name on it.
"It's a little thing we're doing to get the community more involved in what we do," said Fire Leiutenant Dave Rapp. "I think the families and the kids think it's a real neat thing."
He said it is just as important for children to know their local firefighter/paramedics as the local police officers, cause they can look to them for help if they are ever in need.
One of the most popular attractions at the Open House is when folks get to witness two live room fires, as firefighters set two different types of blazes in the two "houses" built out of plywood, steel studs and drywall and allow kids to shoot water at them with a real fire hose -- and, of course, the assistance of real firefighters.
Rapp said visitors get to see the fire and how it spreads from a "fourth wall" inside view almost as if they were watching a movie or TV show filmed. One fire spreads in a faux bedroom with a mattress and the other replicates a living room with couches and a TV set.
Other attractions include the department's technical rescue specialists rappeling off the firehouse roof, hazardous materials technicians suiting up and stopping a chemical leak using a 150-pound chlorine storage cylinder and firefighters using the Jaws of Life to extricate a would-be accident victim from inside a crashed-up vehicle -- all the while viewing Fire Department apparatus such as Engines 1111 and 1112, ladder truck 1119 or ambulances 1114 and 1115
Hot dogs will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and refreshments will be served all day.
Prizes including CO detectors, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers will be given away and balloons and other gifts will be provided by mb financial bank, located at the southeast corner of Burlington and Kensington avenues in La Grange.
Representatives will also be on hand from Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, the La Grange Police Department, the Park District of La Grange, Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (which runs freight trains through the East Side of town), ComEd and Nicor. IHB, says Rapp, has a "fabulous" display on their Operation Life Saver program.
Patrol Officer Eric Berg and the LPD's resident canine, Dak, were scheduled to be there, and while their appearance is promoted on Open House flyers, they are currently involved in an out-of-town investigation and may not make it, says Rapp.
Children were already treated to Fire Department visits to their classrooms, in preparation for Fire Prevention Week scheduled from Oct. 5 to 11. Last week, firefighters stopped by St. Francis Xavier and the Park District preschool.
"We certainly hope people and kids walk away having enjoyed themselves ... but also knowing we do much more than put out fires," Rapp said.
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