Families See Royal Oak Firefighters in Action at Open House

Families See Royal Oak Firefighters in Action at Open House
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 9, 2016)
Royal Oak, MI – First-grader Jack Muckenthaler remembers what it was like when his grandmother fell and broke her ankle.  “Nana was walking on the stairs a few steps and she fell.  The ambulance came and the firemen helped her,” he said.  “There were sirens so everybody can hear they’re coming, so the person that’s sick or hurt has to know that the firetruck or ambulance is coming so they can not be scared, and so people can get out of their way.”
Muckenthaler said it was scary, but only a little.  As the rescue workers came into his home to help his relative, the young Royal Oak resident was assured because he knew about the role of police, fire and rescue workers in keeping the public safe.
He and his parents had attended the Royal Oak Fire Department Open House in a previous year, and were happy to be back for Saturday’s event.
The open house gave families a chance to get to know – and trust – rescue workers with a variety of activities including fire demonstrations, destroying a car to show how tools like the “jaws of life” work, and the fire safety house that shows dangers to be avoided at home.  There was also a bounce house, plastic fire helmets to be given away, cider and donuts, firetruck tours, and more.
“My favorite is shooting the hose at the fire,” Muckenthaler said.  “There’s so much water everywhere.  It’s coming out of the firetruck because the firetruck is full of water.”
Jack’s parents Amanda and Brad enjoyed watching their son explore the station at the corner of W. 6th Street and Troy.   But for them it’s also a lesson in life.  “We want to expose him to rescue workers so he had a good understanding of what they do and how they keep us safe,” Amanda said.
This year the Muckenthalers also learned “Sidewalk CPR.”  Royal Oak Fire Department EMS Coordinator Dan Phillips has led the effort to teach this scaled-down version of CPR to as many people as possible – from kids to adults.  Many people don’t realize that if they are not trained in traditional CPR, they can still save a life by keeping the heart pumping in the event that someone’s heart fails.  Rapid chest compressions in the first couple minutes of cardiac arrest increase the possibility for survival while ambulance workers are en route.   (CLICK HERE for a video demonstration).
Firefighter Carey Thompson helped announce activities at the open house.  “It’s great for us to be able to connect with the community.  The kids love it, and we love being able to show them what we do,” he said.  Royal Oak has three fire stations, 1,400 fire hydrants, and a team of over 50 firefighters to keep the city safe.  Ryan Edwards organized the event.
Learn more about the Royal Oak Fire Dept at http://www.romi.gov/228/Fire.
 

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