A Day at the Fire Station

A Day at the Fire Station There must be an emergency! Someone called the dispatcher, the person who sends out help, to let the firefighters know we need them! All the firefighters stop what they are doing right away... to get ready and leave everything behind. What will they wear to fight the fire? A pair of protective pants and a jacket. A safety helmet and gloves too! Can you think of anything else the firefighter needs to wear? Boots to protect their feet. They also need a flashlight, a signal whistle, and a respirator which helps them breathe. These pieces of equipment are fire proof, which means they don't burn, and this keeps firefighters safe during a fire. Alright, let's get to the truck! The fire truck must drive quickly to get to the fire as soon as possible! The flashing lights show other drivers that the firefighters are on their way to an emergency. The siren helps other drivers hear the fast truck coming; it brings even more attention! All other drivers must move to the side of the road and stop to let the fire truck pass. On their way, the firefighters get their first instructions and learn what needs to be done so that the fire can be put out quickly. Once they arrive, everyone already knows what to do. A few firefighters run to help people in the burning house and pets that need to be rescued too. Inside the house, firefighters wear their respirator. This is a special mask that helps them breathe clean air and avoid the dangerous smoke. Do you know how firefighters reach people who are stuck up high? They use ladders that are kept on the fire truck. The highest ladder can reach one hundred feet! Other firefighters are getting ready to put out the fire. Firefighters practice and work together in teams. They lay out the hoses, but where will the water come from? Sometimes it comes from the fire truck which can hold more than seven hundred gallons of water! Other times, the firefighters get the water from fire hydrants on the street. Another team can now take care of fighting the flames. Here, the firefighters use water to put out the fire. But they can also use foam, powder, or gas to stop fires. Phew, the fire is out! Good work! Ambulances are always called to the emergency too. They are there to help anyone who might have been hurt by the fire. Now that the firefighters have done their job, all the equipment has to be loaded back onto the fire truck and they can go back to the station. They have just put out a house fire, but do you know what else firefighters do? They help put out forest fires and car fires too! Firefighters also get people and animals out of buildings and crashed cars. They protect places when a disaster, like a flood, occurs. Firefighters also rescue people and animals from unsafe situations. Firefighting is an important job that helps many people. It looks like the firefighters have earned a little break, even if it's a short one!