Fire Department Visit

Today, the fire department on base gave a special presentation for children on what to do in case of a fire. I took the baby, the 20 mo old, the 3 year old and Dylan (Taylor had school). It was held at one of the houses on base that was taken over by the fire department and turned into a place where they hold trainings of this sort. I always have high hopes for these things that the kids will all behave, listen when they are supposed to listen, and most of all, not run in 3 different directions at once. However, I also realize that it is humanly impossible for a 3 year old and younger to act the way they are supposed to. So, I came prepared with diapers, extra clothing, a double stroller (to be able to contain at least 2 of them), lots of snacks, and an assortment of drinks. To my delight, none of that was necessary because they were the most well behaved kids there!!!

First, the kids got to watch a short movie on what firemen do and what to do if you see a fireman at a fire, etc. Then, as we were walking down the hall, Sparky the fire dog (person in a costume) was walking towards us...almost all of the kids stopped dead in their tracks and started crying...except Dylan who proceeded to push his way through the frozen kids to run and give Sparky a hug!

Then, our next presentation was how to stop, drop, and roll. By the end of the presentation (which lasted all of 10 min.) Dylan was in front of the group demonstrating how to stop, drop, and roll for the fireman. All the other kids were climbing on chairs, crying, or generally being loud.

The last presentation was how to crawl low under smoke to get out of a fire. By this time usually my kids are tired of listening, and starting to act out. This time, however, I got to sit quietly with a quiet 3 year old next to me, a baby asleep (still) in the carrier, the 20 mo. old on my lap, and Dylan standing up, waiting for the video to start. By then end of the video, you couldn't actually hear the TV because all the other kids were being so loud...but here was Dylan, being called up to the front again to demonstrate how to get out of a fire by crawling. This time, the 20 mo. old joined him! It was too dang cute!

Finally, they filled the house with "smoke", let all the kids practice how to crawl low under it, and go out the front door. My whole group had a blast--especially Dylan. This was by far the best field trip we have ever taken! Who knew DJ would be so interested in firemen?!