Homewood Fire Department (HFD) hosted its annual open house for National Fire Safety Month at the Homewood Fire Station on Saturday, Oct. 4. Community members toured the facility and learned about fire safety from fire department staff and vendors at the event.
Like every year, the event concluded with a demonstration outside the firehouse during which Homewood firefighters set fires to two small replicas of a living room before extinguishing them. While it was a crowd pleaser, the firefighters were demonstrating how a fire spreads much more quickly and ferociously inside a home without a sprinkler system than inside a home equipped with one.
Homewood Fire Lieutenant Ryan Tracy spoke to the crowd about fire safety during the demonstration.
“We used to have stuff in our homes made out of real wood and natural materials, such as cotton, for the padding. Everything in our house these days is made out of an oil-based product, whether that’s plastic or polyethylene foam,” Tracy said, explaining why a house fire can spread so quickly and why the HFD recommends having an at-home sprinkler system.
When a medical helicopter from the University of Chicago arrived, attendees piled out of the fire station to watch it land. UChicago Medicine flight nurse Sarah Hanko-Imbrunone answered questions about the helicopter and helped kids climb into it for photo ops.
Also at the open house, community members toured the inside of a Homewood fire truck. Parents and guardians took photos of their kids sitting in the driver’s seat. Several fastened the seatbelt and played with the steering wheel.
The HFD constructed large displays about fire safety for attendees to read. Information included one warning that a house fire’s smoke, not the flames themselves, is what usually causes fire fatalities. The displays also showed details about holiday fireplace safety, such as never leaving a fireplace unattended, and the advice for community members to familiarize themselves with the sounds of their home’s smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Ryan Hope, a Homewood firefighter and EMT, operated a booth with two CPR dummies, one representing an infant and the other an adult. Attendees pressed their hands on the dummies as Hope instructed them on how to perform CPR. The dummies had small green lights that lit up when CPR was being implemented correctly.
Flossmoor resident Karla Hughes learned the basics of CPR with her nephew, Aayyan Hughes, who was celebrating his 7th birthday.
“He’s got a really big smile because he’s having fun,” Hughes said, regarding her nephew.
Homewood firefighters set two rooms on fire, one protected with a sprinkler system and the other not, as a part of an annual fire safety display at the Homewood Fire Department open house. Homewood Fire Lieutenant Ryan Tracy looks on. (Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
HFD mascot Sparky, a Dalmatian in a firefighter uniform, gave attendees high-fives and took selfies with them.
Homewood village Events Manager Marla Youngblood and village Communications and Engagement Manager Antonia Steinmiller handed out emergency whistles to attendees. The display table advised Homewood residents to keep a contingency fund, important documents and granola inside an emergency kit.
Cook County Emergency Management and Regional Security (EMRS) gave attendees reusable water bottles with their logo, mini first aid kits, small flashlights and FEMA pamphlets about what to do in case of an emergency.
Homewood Veterinary Care provided attendees with red stickers to display on a home’s door, alerting firefighters that a pet resides at the house. Shamus, the pet collie of Homewood Veterinary practice manager Mary Carr, was next to the Homewood Veterinary Care booth, wearing a yellow and red firefighter vest.
Cook County Sheriff’s Police Officer Nelson Lewis brought Ella, a 3-and-a-half-year-old bloodhound from the Cook County Sheriff’s Bloodhound Unit, to the event.
“We use her to look for lost people. So, a lot of lost children and lost elderly,” Lewis said. “Criminal suspects, too. If someone runs from a crime scene, we can collect some kind of scent particle from there. I can give it to Ella, and she can follow the trail that they ran.”
Attendees petted and played with Ella, including Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld.
“Another beautiful, successful event in Homewood. The community gets a better chance to see our fire service. And the fire service does an outstanding job of showcasing what they have,” Hofeld said. “It’s a nice time. And if people weren’t able to be here, I certainly encourage them next year to come on out.”
