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An evening to promote fire safety...
Lights flashed and sirens regularly blared for nearly four hours Thursday evening as Mountain Home residents gathered to celebrate the community's biggest fire prevention gathering.
Cloudy skies and a light drizzle didn't deter parents and children from packing into Fire Station One to enjoy an evening of fun and education at this year's open house.
Held in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week, the event wrapped up a series of activities in local-area schools and daycare centers aimed at spreading fire safety messages.
According to city fire chief Mark Moore, a steady crowd of more than 830 people gathered at the station throughout the evening. The numbers were down compared to past years due to the threat of rain that evening's, said city fire chief Mark Moore.
The fire chief offered kudos to the students at West Elementary School, who represented a majority of children present at the event throughout the evening.
Caryn Ehrhart and her sons, Stephen, Scott and Spencer, were among the first in line at this year's open house. They arrived at the station 30 minutes before the open house was set to begin.
"They're into fire trucks," Ehrhart said regarding the enthusiasm shared by her three children.
In addition, her son, Stephen, wants to dress up as a firefighter for Halloween this year.
Dozens of people were already standing in line next to Fire Station 1 well before the 5 p.m. start time in hopes of riding on top of the department's fire trucks, which many admit is the main reason why they enjoy the open house each year. With the line along East 2nd South Street starting to grow before the scheduled 5 p.m. start time, fire department officials decided to go ahead and start running the trucks about 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
The open house is a yearly gathering for the Vallard family. It's something they've done the past five years.
"They love it," she Kara Vallard said regarding her children. "They learn lots of valuable information, and they love riding the fire trucks."
In addition, their six-year-old son, William Vallard, came dressed for the occasion, sporting a firefighter's jacket while the family waited to board a fire truck.
In addition to seeing the trucks and the equipment they carry, the open house offers other lessons for children in this community, according to Kara Vallard.
"It teaches them that these fire fighters are the good guys, and it's good to see heroes like this in our community," she said.
Adam Shain also chose to attend the open house in the appropriate gear. The youngster had selected a red firefighter jacket specifically for Thursday's event.
"He loves firemen. He's obsessed with it," said his mother, Heather Shain.
The Harman family were among those new to the fire department open house experience. While they've lived in Mountain Home the past eight years, they decided to go at the urging of their daughter, Elaina, who learned about the event during a fire safety presentation at her preschool.
"She's been talking about it all week," said her father, Greg Harman. "Every day, it was 'are we going to ride on the fire trucks today?' She's very excited about it."
While the children simply enjoyed riding on top of the fire trucks and waving at people along the route, others found unique ways to enjoy the experience.
"It was fun 'cause I could catch the leaves off the trees," said Ben Kreutzer, who admitted that he reached up to grab leaves off low-hanging tree branches as the truck rolled down the city streets.
"It was very, very fun, and I wanted to go on it again," said Isabelle Emschweiler who was hoping her parents would let her get back in line.
Following the fire truck rides, children and parents were invited to climb inside one of the county ambulances for some early Halloween treats. Afterward, they stepped into the station where volunteers handed out hundreds of gift bags containing fire safety information along with coloring books, pencils and other trinkets.
The fire department used the open house to stress this year's theme "Don't Wait -- Check the Date." It encourages people to look at each of the smoke detectors in their home and to replace any that are more than 10 years old.
"This message is important because it has been determined that electronic components (in smoke detectors) may fail after 10 years," Moore said. "So be safe and replace them because smoke detectors save lives."
The longest running public health and safety observance on record, National Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that killed more than 250 people and left more than 100,000 others homeless, according to information from the National Fire Protection Association.
The fire chief credited the efforts of his fire fighters and their spouses as well as local paramedics and representatives from other emergency agencies and state organizations, who took time out of their evening to make this year's open house so successful.
"Things ran smoothly, allowing for less waiting time in line due, in part, from a full department turnout and several fire department spouses helping to make the event seamless," Moore said.
In addition to members from the city fire department, the open house featured representatives from the Elmore Ambulance Service, Elmore County Search and Rescue, Mountain Home Police Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.