Many thanks

I want to give a big call of thanks out to the Klein Volunteer Fire Department on Landry Blvd (Station 33) in Spring, Texas. They truly went above and beyond this evening to make a group of cub scouts feel welcome and to help educate them on fire safety.

Their trucks may be slime green, but there is no mistaking what they are for. There is also no mistaking that they put in an honest effort when they are there. These guys were amazing at educating and answering the boys’ questions.

They might have been a little worried about bringing a fire fighter in fully dressed for these 8-9 year old boys, but the boys thought that was totally awesome. The fire fighter that was in fully suit, all the way down to the tank and mask was a real trooper as the other fire fighter talked about the different parts of the gear, tank, mask, etc. The boys got to hear what the fire fighter sounds like when talking through the mask, which is actually not as scary as you might think. They have to yell to actually be heard. They even let the boys hear the cool alarm that is on each fire fighter’s suit for their protection in case of emergency involving them as an individual. If you have ever seen a scene on TV or on the road side where the fire fighters are doing this little shimmy wiggle thing, it is because they have an obnoxious alarm on their suit that goes off after about a minute of very little movement. It is for their protection. The longer they are still, the louder the alarm is. It alerts the other fire fighters that there is a problem like if they have been trapped or if there is an another emergency. It tells them that they need to go in looking for that particular fire fighter. The loud alarm helps them know where to find them once they are inside the fire with the loud noises again. It is actually quite slick.

What was surprising to me was that with as sophisticated as our technology is and all the improvements have been with heat resistance and whatnot, the weakest part on their suits is their mask. They said usually if a fire fighter gets into trouble it is because of heat of the fire in relation to the heat resistance of the mask. The mask starts to crack and break and they they are overcome by the smoke like anyone else in spite of the oxygen tank they are carrying on their back.

Here is Lance up inside the cab of one of the firetrucks. He was completely entranced by all the stuff. One of the first things he asked one the way to the fire station was, “Am I going to get to climb inside a fire truck?” He was totally happy! He got to climb inside three fire trucks today.

The boys were treated to more than just your traditional fire truck at this fire station. Being about 2 miles from a major freeway and being the nearest Klein Volunteer Fire Department station to the freeway, we were told that this station has one particular truck because of this unique situation. Here is the Heavy Rescue truck. his truck is loaded with all sorts of tools and gadgets. The boys were completely enjoying learning about all the different tools in all the different sizes. We hope that they never need to have this truck come to their rescue, but they will know what all the different things are if it does.

On the Heavy Rescue Truck is all the fun tools for rescuing people that find themselves in serious situations. Here are the fire fighters showing the boys the “Jaws of Life.” The boys were totally impressed! The fire fighters think they are pretty cool too. It is probably not so cool if you are ever in a situation where you need them, but it is totally cool that we have tools to save us from situations when we need them.

Here are three of the wonderful volunteer fire fighters that serve our area. These men along with the woman that is scene in the other pictures volunteer their time to help rescue and put out fires in the area surround the fire station. They were encouraging about their volunteer “job” and the one on the right referred to this as his “hobby.” They were great individuals when it came to educating these young boys.

In the picture behind them is the third truck found at the Landry Blvd (Station 33) Fire Station, the tanker truck. They have a pumper truck, the heavy rescue truck, and tanker truck. This truck holds 3,000 gallons of water. You do not want to pull over in front of it and stop.

Again, many thanks to the volunteer fire fighters for taking the time to help education a group of Cub Scouts on fire safety and make their evening by letting them climb up inside not one, but three different fire trucks. Maybe one day one of them will join your forces and return the favor.