Come out and meet local firefighters at the fourth annualMonroe Township Fire Department’s open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at the station, 24 S. Oregon St.
New this year at the open house will be a Christmas Tree safety demonstration.
“We’re going to light two trees on fire, one that has been watered and one that’s dried out, in order to show people the importance of watering their Christmas trees,” said Josh Martel from the Johnstown-Monroe Fire Department.
“We want to bring awareness to what can happen when trees get too close to an ignition source and become dried out.”
The fire department’s open house kicks off fire prevention week which is Oct. 4-10.
Fire Chief Dudley Wright said firefighters will be visiting elementary schools that week to teach students about fire safety.
“We try to bring fire safety into the forefront and engage the community,” Wright said. “It gives us an opportunity to interact with people in non-crisis situations.”
There will also be a search and rescue trailer from the Ohio Fire Academy there for community members to walk through and get a sense of what it’s like in a smoke-filled environment.
The fire department’s new rescue fire truck will be on display, “to show the community what they have been supporting us for,” Martel said.
At the Open House, there will be free Whit’s Frozen Custard and food from US 62 Barbeque.
Children can paint a wooden fire truck, try on fire turnout gear, watch fire extinguisher demonstrations and meet Sparky the robotic fire dog.
Usually about 150 people attend the open house, Martel said.
The Monroe Township Fire Department was founded April 1, 2000 when Monroe Township took over the Johnstown Volunteer Fire Department at the private fire department’s request.
It is a combination fire department meaning the staff consists of 13 full-time, 20 part-time, and 10 volunteer personnel.
Debbie Gillum Wakefield 