Over the weekend, Aurora firefighters raced in gear. Fire engines and ambulances flashed lights. Water hoses doused a kitchen fire. Paramedics performed CPR.
But there wasn’t a major disaster in Aurora.
The simulated events were part of Aurora Fire Rescue’s Fire Safety Field Day in the Aurora training center. It was the first time the department held the event.
“The fire service really has an obligation and an opportunity to connect, to be embedded with the community. And we're the protectors of our community and we need to have that relationship with them,” Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton said.
Children at the public event learned about CPR and how fire trucks and ambulances work. They also had an opportunity to hold and shoot a fire hose.
Fully geared firefighters took on the children in a race around the drill facility.
“They need to see us before they have an emergency and know who we are and as humans and individuals. And so this is a good opportunity for them to meet the firefighters that are working in the stations,” Oughton said.
Oughton said the event was just as much for adults as it was for the children.
“Unfortunately, we've had fire fatalities of kids in the last 12 months and a lot of that comes from kids and adults not knowing what to do in the event that they have a fire in their home,” Oughton said. “Fires are going to happen. And so, what we want to do is prepare them in the event that that happens.”
The event was held as a fundraiser as part of the Rotary Club’s Day of Service. The local clubs, Rotary Club of Aurora, Rotary Club of Smoky Hill, and Rotary Club of Aurora Fitzsimons, chose Aurora Fire Rescue to help launch a campaign to raise money for a fire safety trailer.
The portable trailer would be taken throughout the city to elementary schools to teach students about fire safety. This includes cooking safety, how to access 911, the sound of a smoke alarm in a home, and how to touch a door to make sure it’s not hot during a fire.
“A trailer like that typically has a kitchen and a bedroom — they can take it to the schools and teach fire safety to where you don't put water on a grease fire or if there's smoke in a bedroom you can get down and roll,” said Skip Arms, President of the Rotary Club of Aurora. That's what it's all about.”
The goal is to raise over $150,000 for the smoke safety trailer. They raised $500 in individual donations and $3,000 in sponsorship donations. The three Aurora Rotary Clubs plan to raise more funds through more fundraisers, donations and grants.
