Copperas Cove Fire Department holds open house

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

Fires can happen anywhere and at any time, so it’s important to be prepared.

To help local citizens be better prepared in case of a fire, the Copperas Cove Fire Department held an open house Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. There, they taught about fire safety and educated attendees about fires and fire safety. Families could pick up age-appropriate learning material and there were also fun goodies that were handed out to the children. The open house included fun activities such as their fire safety house, meeting Fire Pup, touring the fire station and checking out some of their vehicles, checking out the firefighter’s gear and even trying on real firefighter gear, trying out the Keiser Sled, and even helping firefighters operate a fire hose.

“The open house activity gives our citizens the opportunity to see the fire station, meet with us, and gives us an opportunity to provide some fire safety messages. It gives us the opportunity to basically create relationships with citizens in the community that we may not already have relationships with and to remind them about the hazards of fire and the importance of fire safety,” said Gary Young, Interim Fire Chief. “This is all about being proactive in promoting fire safety in our community.”

Some of the safety measures Interim Fire Chief Young shared were about smoke detector safety. For example, you should change the batteries whenever there is a time change, smoke detectors should be discarded and replaced every 10 years, and if you have a home with a built-in smoke detector then you should also have a battery-powered backup smoke detector.

Shannon Wirth brought her young son, Jacob Wirth (2) to the event. Jacob enjoyed spraying the fire hose at the pretend house, attempting to spray the pretend fires. Even after his mom was ready to go to the next activity, little Jacob ran back for another go at using the fire hose.

“It’s pretty cool. He seems pretty entertained,” said Wirth about her son, watching with a smile as he missed the wooden house completely. Jacob did eventually get the hang of it, blasting the fire image. “He mostly just wants to use the fire hose.”

Ciera Jaynes attended the event with her husband Jack Jaynes and their son, Elias Jaynes (5). Elias moved from station to station, clearly enjoying each one and very engaged with listening to what the firefighters and volunteers had to say as well as being fully engaged in the fire safety video.

Elias said that he enjoyed hearing Sparky (the fire safety dog) teach about how to put out fires.

Elias said that he learned, “If the smoke detector beeps, you have to run.”

“I like how involved this community is,” said Jack Jaynes. The family moved here in March, and he said that he liked how Copperas Cove feels like a big family.

“I’m loving it. It’s a great opportunity to talk about fire safety, which is something we definitely need to talk about with my five-year-old,” said Ciera Jaynes. “He has loved talking to each of the firefighters. He’s a little star struck.”

James Stockman, President of the Citizens Fire and Public Safety Volunteer Association, and several other members of the volunteer association were on hand at the event to supervise and help teach the children (and adults!) in attendance about fire safety.

“It’s a great opportunity for the community to get to know our Fire Department,” said Stockman. “We love our Fire Department.”