Fire Station Adventure

Our wonderful friends, the Nordquist family, invited us to join them on a trip to our local fire station. We got to explore the ins and outs of the station, and we also picked the firefighters' brains about their work. It was a wonderful adventure!

Dayton and Parker in the cab of a fire truck

Dayton in the firetruck driver's seat;
The firemen all told Dayton how much they loved his red glasses

Daphne in the firetruck driver's seat

Dayton wearing the fire helmet- very briefly;
he said it was very heavy (Daphne didn't want to try it on)

Climbing on the front of a firetruck-
Dayton peeked in the window

Daphne and Dayton sitting on the firetruck's front bumperWe also got to explore an ambulance!
Dayton's checking out the front cab here

Daphne in the ambulance

Dayton and Daphne, wandering around the ambulance;
I was surprised that the ambulance looks just like on TV shows

Daddy and Dayton by the firemen jackets
(in hindsight I see that I should have turned off the flash)

Firemen Jackets (without a flash)We got a tour of the living quarters; we saw their classroom
(which is their recreational room after the workday),
office, kitchen, lockers, and bedroom

Us with our new favorite firefighters
at the North Chicago Fire Station!
(Daphne, Mommy, and Dayton on the far right)

Some fun facts about firemen:
-Their work day is 7am-4pm. During the workday, they have to be doing TLC- Training, Learning, or Cleaning. One fireman gave us an example of a typical training exercise, which that day was taping up their masks so they couldn't see, and then practicing rescues without vision.
-Their shifts are 24 hours, so after the workday is over, they get to relax, watch tv, and do whatever (but of course they have to stay at the station). They work one day on, and then two days off.
-A shift has a minimum of 6 fireman working at a time.
-Their gear weighs 70 lbs (that includes their oxygen tank).
-They are trained to have all their gear on in 60 seconds.
-This fire station has 3 fire trucks and 1 ambulance.
-If a city has a surplus of emergency calls during a period of time, fire stations in neighboring cities will help answer calls.

Dayton and Daphne were excited about the goody bags they got from the firemen. They had fun with the coloring books, and they wore their firemen hats when we got home.

Junior Firefighter Daphne

Junior Firefighter Dayton
(he would only wear the hat backwards)

We went back to the station a few days later with the Nordquists to bring some goodies to our favorite firemen. We brought chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip pumpkin bread, a thank you card, and a Thanksgiving turkey craft. We're hoping to visit the station every now and then to appreciate and spoil our local heroes; plus the kids love going there!