Waseca event highlights Fire prevention and safety

To kick off Fire Prevention Week, the Waseca Fire Department held an open house and chili feed over the dinner hour on Sunday, Oct. 4. For $10, diners could enjoy either a “bottomless” bowl of chili or wild rice soup or hot dogs. The motto for the event was “Good food, safe kids, and a stronger community.”

 

Inside an unusual bounce house in front of the Waseca Fire Hall was a setup meant to show children potential fire dangers including an unattended lit oven or stovetop, open power outlets, and dead batteries in smoke detectors. Fireman Kyle Gallagher who helped with the set up for  the day said, “I got here at three to help get things ready. We had to clean the truck bays; then did all the tables and the chairs.” He was asked about the bounce house and said, “That only takes around 20 minutes to fill up–gotta think about the kids!” Indicating a number of fire trucks calling attention to the event in the parking lot, Gallagher said, “We put the ladder up but no one is allowed to climb it. I did back when I was going through training, got to spray the firehose from up there too, all the firefighters got to.”

 

Alex McElmury approached, he brought his two children, Renn and Rowen, and his wife Kora. Rowen was still too young to enjoy the bounce house, so mama Kora carried him. But little lady Renn was active in her fire safety lesson. She even crawled on the ground to simulate what to do when avoiding smoke from a fire.

 

Inside the fire hall, fireman Lonnie Mitchel said, “We’re not full up yet but we can seat around 200. It’s early now but I believe we will fill these seats today.” There was also an accompanying bake sale. Those serving chili waited patiently for the lines to form.