Children in Hinsdale tried family friendly versions of police officer and firefighter skills, such as practicing at the firing range and rescuing someone from a fire.
The victim in the smoke-filled room was a Teddy Bear and the guns the children used at the shooting range were made of Styrofoam-like material at the Hinsdale Police and Fire departments Open House Saturday.
Children could try a scaled down version of the firefighters’ skills course, which included climbing a ladder to reach a window, crawling on their hands and knees through a smoke-filled room and breaking down a door, said Hinsdale firefighter Steve Tullis.
They climbed into the window, which was about 3.5-feet off the ground, and then through a fiberglass drainage tube, Tullis said. The children were told they needed to rescue someone in a fire and were give a Styrofoam ax and sledgehammer to break through a door.
The doorframe was real, but the door was fake so it gave way easily, Tullis said. On the other side, they found the Teddy Bear.
A smoke machine created artificial smoke to mimic a real fire.
“We want the kids to stay low and feel the floor in front of them,” Tullis said.
They did this with one hand, while clutching their “victim” with the other. The kids loved it, Tullis said.
The line was out the door to do it all four hours of the event, he said.
Some arrived dressed as firefighters, their costume for Halloween, he said.
Families could tour the police station, too, seeing the jail cells and shooting range. With toy guns, they practiced firing at the targets.
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The Fire Department also demonstrated extricating someone from a burning truck after a crash and tested fire extinguishers to see if they were still effective.
Free refreshments were available to the visitors. The popularity of the event can be judged by the facts that 450 hot dogs were handed out, Tullis said.
