Look, listen, learn Fire Department holds open house for Fire Prevention Week

The Carbondale Fire Department on Saturday threw open the doors at Fire Station No. 2, rolled out the trucks and invited the community to tour the station and meet the firefighters.

The event wasn't just for the kids, but there were plenty of them in attendance, making the annual open house a real family-friendly event.

"We like to open up to the community every year," Chief Mike Hertz said, "so we can show the people we serve exactly what those services are."

Every visitor was offered a Sparky the Fire Dog gift bag filled with goodies, including a Sparky poster, a National Fire Protection Association magnet, a bookmark and lid grip, as well as a Carbondale Fire Department pencil (with an eraser shaped like a fireman's hat), pen and a sticker to designate "junior firefighters."

There were a lot of junior firefighters at Saturday's open house. They climbed on the fire trucks, stared in awe at the firefighters and peppered them with questions. They flocked to the fire department's mascot, Sparky. Some of them watched adults use fire extinguishers on controlled fires, while others helped hold the hose as it sprayed water on a cardboard house.

The open house kicked off National Fire Prevention Week, which runs Oct. 7 to 13. This year's theme is "Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere."

Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of Oct. 8 and 9, 1871. The two-day blaze killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The tragedy inspired reform across America.

Each October, the National Fire Protection Association serves as the official sponsor of a nationwide prevention campaign to highlight the importance of fire safety education.

For more about the Great Chicago Fire, watch the video at sparkyschoolhouse.org/ #music-section.<object id="Extra Pictures" type="x-im/image" uuid="A52DDB26-C4DB-4F58-A9DE-69BEAF60EAA8"><links><link rel="self" type="x-im/image" uri="im://image/A52DDB26-C4DB-4F58-A9DE-69BEAF60EAA8.jpg" uuid="A52DDB26-C4DB-4F58-A9DE-69BEAF60EAA8"><data><title><![CDATA[