The Homewood Fire Department hosted its annual open house for National Fire Safety Month at the Homewood Fire Station on Saturday, Oct. 5. The event featured several booths and demonstrations about fire safety, including the main attraction where the Homewood Fire Department set fire to three small replicas of a living room outside.
The demonstration is done annually to show how fire affects a room protected by a sprinkler system and a room that isn’t. This year, for the first time, a third room was in between the two rooms showing the benefits of closing your bedroom door while sleeping.
The rooms were about the size of a small bathroom and enclosed on all sides except the front. They had wooden and cushioned furniture inside.
a child at the open house. (Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
The first room to be set on fire was labeled Unprotected because it didn’t have a sprinkler system that turns on from the ceiling when a fire is detected. When smoke started to enter the middle of the three rooms through an open door, a fully uniformed firefighter went inside and closed it. This caused the room to be mostly protected from the flames.
“You would think with how hot and how fast that fire burned on that right-hand side that you’d see something going on in that room with the door shut. But there’s virtually no damage in there at all,” Homewood Fire Chief Bob Grabowski told the crowd.
Homewood Firefighter Shawn Santos, one of the firefighters who put on the demonstration, said installing a sprinkler system in your home can be expensive. While it would be safer if all homes had them, realistically they can’t, he said.
“Most residential houses don’t have sprinkler systems,” Santos said, adding if your house does have one, it could be over the water heater or the furnace.
Inside the fire station, the Homewood firefighters talked with attendees and answered questions about fire safety. Sparky, the Homewood Fire Department’s mascot, posed for pictures with attendees. Kids hopped in the parked fire truck inside the firehouse and grabbed the wheel, pretending to drive it.
Firefighters Edgar Serna and Andrew Sline stood at the Protect Fire Buddies booth, telling attendees about the nonprofit organization.
“We support kids with cancer and terminal illness by helping them along with anything they need – gifts, counseling – and anything the family needs as well,” Serna explained. “No kid should have to fight their battle alone. There should always be someone there for the kid and the family.”
Homewood Veterinary Care passed out Halloween candy and free $25 gift cards for new clients and informed attendees about fire safety for pets. Practice manager Mary Carr’s dog Shamus, a 9-year-old collie, was wearing a firefighter hat and vest at the Homewood Veterinary booth.
“He’s a sweet boy. He loves kids,” Carr said of Shamus. “That’s why we brought him out here.”
Carr said that if your dog wears a Halloween costume, make sure it can be seen in the dark. She also advised that dog owners must prevent their four-legged friends from getting into any Halloween candy.