Every member has a set of reasons for the time and safety they sacrifice to be a firefighter. It is safe to say that most firefighters would list “Helping and Protecting Children” high on that list. Knowing that, it is easy to see why the 5 House crew was eager to help out at the Westfield Public Library’s Summer Reading Program on July 18th, 2024. This year, we were able to get Smokey Bear to make an appearance, and you can bet that he was the star of the show!
FF Steve Brubaker read a book starring Smokey Bear to the group, and believe us when we say he missed his calling as a narrator! Once the book was read, Smokey Bear made his appearance. Thank you to FF Lacy Miles for a spectacular performance garnering rave reviews from the parents and chaperones. The children absolutely loved Smokey! After hugs and pictures, everyone filed outside for a tour of Engine 5-3, Squad 5-18, and Rescue UTV 5-28. FF Barber donned gear to demonstrate to the children what a Firefighter will look like if a fire were to occur. The members answered many great questions, let the kids try on our helmets, and handed out tons of fist bumps, high fives and hugs.
Increasing the positive interactions between the public and the fire department can only improve the safety and awareness of our citizens, and this is of no greater importance than with our children. We should make sure that all kids meet our firefighters before an incident occurs so that lack of familiarity does not scare them or make them hide during a fire or accident. All children should be taught the basics of fire safety and be comfortable around personnel. In addition to helping others, the firefighters who helped out have had their souls topped-off with passion for the “job” by being reminded of why we do this and who we do this for.
Thank you to Becky Nagy and the Westfield Public Library for providing us with this venue for outreach and for providing an excellent free resource of knowledge and entertainment for our community. Thank you to Scott Miller and Brian Plume from DCNR and Chief 5 Bill Goltz for helping Smokey Bear pay us a visit.
Thank you to Dept 5 Participants: FF Jeff Barber, Prob FF Wayne Boka, FF/EMR Steve Brubaker, FF/EMT Lacy Miles, FF/EMR Matthew Reed.
