Taylor Reusch, 6, and Xavier Guerra, 14, spray water from fire hoses with the help of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical firefighters on Saturday, Oct. 3, as Blake Brinkmann, 3, looks on.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical held its fifth and final open house and centennial celebration Saturday at Station No. 2, 2128 Harper St., and of course I had to check it out.

While I was there, about a dozen kids were having a blast – literally – as, with the help of LDCFM firefighters, they shot water from real fire hoses.

Taylor Reusch, 6, and Xavier Guerra, 14, spray water from fire hoses with the help of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical firefighters on Saturday, Oct. 3, as Blake Brinkmann, 3, looks on.

They also learned how to use a fire extinguisher on a real fire, which could prove handy if ever put in a position to have to use one. It’s harder to do than one might think.

Lawrence High School student Xavier Guerra, 14, puts out flames on a grill using a fire extinguisher on Saturday, Oct. 3.

But one of the neatest features at the event was the Fire Safety House, which is essentially a fancy playhouse with a bedroom, living room and kitchen that firefighters use to teach children how to respond to a fire emergency.

I’d expect that most times folks are faced with a house fire, it’s the first time they’ve experienced that situation. That’s why this fire safety house is so neat, because it gives children a hands-on scenario on how to respond.

Below is a video of Ahmad Moukaddem, a member of the LDCFM Explorers Program, taking a group through a fire scenario. The children participating are Kennedy Elementary School student Blake Brinkmann, 3, Taylor Reusch, 6, and Lawrence High School student Xavier Guerra, 14, all of Lawrence. Tina Briggs, is the woman who went with them.

As you’ll notice, little Taylor at first was pretty afraid of the shrill sound of the fire alarm, but as Moukaddem walks the group through the scenario, coaching the four to get on the ground away from the “smoke” and feel the bedroom door for heat, together they make it out safely.

Moukaddem said the LDCFM takes the fire safety house around to Lawrence schools throughout the year, giving lessons to all first- and fifth-graders. This must be beneficial, as all I remember from my schooling is firefighters visiting the schools teaching us fire safety from videos, which consisted of “stop, drop and roll,” make an emergency plan with parents, and maybe a tour of a fire truck now and then.

My father, William Doornbos, a safety engineer and volunteer firefighter in DeWitt, Iowa, was in town this weekend and tagged along with me. He, and other open house visitors, got a kick out of checking out the department’s newest, state-of-the-art quint fire truck.

LDCFM firefighter Jason Ray talks with my father, William Doornbos, as he points at the nozzle on the top of the ladder attached to the LDCFM's newest fire truck.

From what I understood from firefighter Jason Ray, the quint truck is equipped with a more than 100-foot tall ladder with a nozzle on the end of it, which can be used to spray water from above.

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This Lights & Sirens actually came at a perfect time, as Sunday marked the start of National Fire Prevention Week. Regardless of whether you had the chance to attend one of the open house and centennial celebrations, it’s a good idea to take a look at this first safety checklist the fire department posted to its Facebook page yesterday. I’d love to meet you, but not at the scene of a fire at your home or business.

And with Lawrence’s bad luck this past year with a number of fires, it’s a good idea to keep a few things in mind, according to the National Fire Protection Association:

– Keep a smoke alarm in every room in
which a person sleeps. About half of
fatal home fires happen between 11
p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are
asleep.

– Smoke alarms should be tested once
per month and batteries should be
changed as needed. Smoke alarms
should be replaced every 10 years.

– Consider installing a fire sprinkler
system. The risk of death decreases
about 80 percent when a fire occurs
in a home equipped with a fire
sprinkler system.

– Make a home escape plan by drawing a
map of your home with doors and
windows, then review the plan with
your family. Make a meeting place
outside a safe distance away for your
family members to meet after they
escape a potential fire. Practice
this plan.

– If a fire occurs, get low to the
ground and crawl beneath the smoke to
your exit. If a closed door is hot,
expect flames outside and find an
alternate route out a window, if
available. Wait to call the fire
department until you’re outside the
house. Under no circumstances should
you return inside after you escape.