By Jim Dresbach
Pentagram Staff Writer
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Multiple hands-on exercises and vehicle displays were as visible Oct. 12 as members of the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Fire Department rolled out the red carpet during a fire prevention week open house.
The Columbus Day weekend event included face-to-face fire prevention tips from JBM-HH fire department staff, a chance to handle a fully-operational fire hose and extinguisher, a smokehouse run through, plus the opportunity to grab a seat in engine number 161.
“[The] open house today was a success; we had a decent turnout even though the weather wasn’t great,” said Capt. William Long of JBM-HH FD. “Overall, we had approximately thirty people come in, and the kids enjoyed the smoke house and spraying the [fire hose at the] house and the extinguisher training.”
Kids transitioned from spectators to active participants during the four-hour event. Ben, a 10-year-old from suburban Maryland, was a repeat visitor to the JBM-HH firehouse.
“I was here last year; I had to come back and shoot the hose again,” he said.
Kids also enjoyed watching the versatility of the recently-acquired tower ladder truck, letting their eyes search the compartments of JBM-HH FD’s other rolling stock of fire-fighting equipment and picking up a goodie bag of freebies at the end of their tours.
Also visiting the base fire station was Installation Management Command (IMCOM) Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Ferriter. The general posed for photographs with the fire-fighting squad.
For more photos from the open house, log onto www.flickr.com/photos/jbm-hh.