demonstrates how emergency responders extricate
victims who are trapped in a vehicle during the 2015
Homewood Fire Department open house. The department
will hold its 2016 open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
on Saturday. (Chronicle file photo)
National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 9 to 15, is coming soon, but the Homewood Fire Department (HFD)will begin its observance on Saturday, Oct. 1, with its annual open house.
The event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. will include a demonstration of an auto extrication. Firefighters will also conduct a live-burn demonstration of how fire suppression sprinkler systems work, according to HFD spokeswoman Megan Tipton.
Kids will have opportunities to meet firefighters, see fire trucks up close and participate in the Fire Safety Super Hero Obstacle Course.
The Homewood Science Center will host a PopUp Science event in conjunction with the open house. Topics will include fire science, friction and seat belt safety.
Then on Tuesday, Oct. 11, HFD will participate in the annual Parade of Lights. The event is a silent, lights-only parade of emergency vehicles from a number of south suburban fire departments that travels through several communities. The route includes Halsted Street and Ridge Road in Homewood. The parade ends at the Homewood Fire Department on Dixie Highway.
The parade is expected to reach Halsted and Ridge about 8:20 p.m.
The parade honors fallen firefighters and others touched by fire tragedies, Tipton said.
Fire prevention week falls each year the week of Oct. 9, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. This year is the 145th anniversary of that historic disaster, which burned 2,000 acres of land, 73 miles of road and 120 miles of wooden sidewalks, according to Tipton.
The official death toll was placed at 120, but the city coroner at the time believed the number to have been closer to 300 people, she said. He believed some drowned in Lake Michigan or were completely incinerated by the fire.