As I covered the Vinton Fire Department again today, PHOTOS I really wished that I could be a little kid again and see this through my little kid eyes.

All I remember about Fire Prevention week was a ride on the fire truck, big deal.

As I watched the things that our fire department prepared for our kids each day, my appreciation for what they do grows. Sure there are the fire truck rides. But there is so much more our guys do that makes me appreciate the time and effort that they put into Fire Prevention Week.

These guys put on their insulated equipment and work up a sweat crawling around the warm classrooms to help children feel safe in case they ever need a fireman. Usually, there is at least one child that cries because they are scared. And that's the point of this effort. The firemen are trying to make the children comfortable with them in case they ever need them.

As I watched the children at the fire station and their reaction to the fog/smoke machine, it sent a chill down my spine as I heard one little boy say, "I'm going to go this way and hide from the smoke!" while the firemen tried to teach them to crawl under the smoke and to go to a window. I had forgotten how a little child thinks, but that is why the fire department pulls out all the stops each year, trying to make sure they do all they can to save one little child if the need arises.

There were funny moments as well, when the fireman asked, "Is there just one you?" trying to emphasis that they were more important than anything else in the house, and a little girl piped up and said, "I do have a twin..."

Or when the boys pull out their inner macho man and roar as they man the fire hose and shoot down an orange cone.

But the sweet moments are when you realize a dad and his son are there together, one is the fireman showing his son what he does, or when they slip on the gear and say, "I look just like my dad."

There's so much more to Fire Prevention Week and our Firemen get it.

They've been wrangling with red tape when the station flooded, they've enlisted help to plan a new station because what we have was built 30 years ago and we have to buy trucks that fit inside rather than trucks that meet our needs.

They stand in intersections raising funds for the MDA, they help in the community in so many ways that even I don't know all of them.

I do know that they show up when you call them, they drop what they're doing and race to you.

This Sunday, they are holding a breakfast to raise money to support the department. They're charging $6.00 asking for your support beginning at 7:00 a.m. and ending at 1:00 p.m. at the fire station. Stop in for some goodies, but do them a favor, drop in a little more if you can and tell them to keep the change. They do that for us all the time.

Tickets are available that day or pre-sale from any Vinton Fireman as well as the following businesses: Wilson-Hite Insurance, John's Tire, Kromminga Motors, Eden Mutual Insurance, and Elwick Electric.


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