On T’s penultimate day of Transitional Kindergarten, his class took a walking field trip to Long Beach Fire Station 22!
T’s TK class waiting for the fire fighters from Station 22 in Long Beach (CA).
T’s class listened as fire fighters from Station 22 talked about their jobs.
I don’t know what it is lately with T and fire stations, fire engines, and fire trucks (there is a difference by the way between those two vehicles), but who needs a reason to spend time at a fire station, especially a five-year-old kid?! I can’t say I’ve minded spending time at fire stations too much myself either (why is it that fire fighters are so gosh darn good-looking again?!).
A peek inside a fire engine at LBFD’s Station 22.
The kids lined up for their chance to get on board the fire engine at Station 22 during their field trip.
T asked the fire fighter a question before getting into the cab of the fire engine. No idea what he was asking as he asked a lot of questions that morning!
T loved his field trip at the fire station!
One of T’s classmates in the photo I wish I got T in, but I couldn’t get around the other side fast enough!
On their field trip, T and his class first got a tour of a fire engine, including all of its equipment. The difference by the way between a fire engine and a fire truck is the ladder; the truck with the long, extension ladder is the fire truck. This fire engine also holds about 500 gallons of water internally before needing a hydrant hook-up (wow!), holds various types of hoses, and other medical tools that a standard ambulance might carry.
T’s classmate got hooked up to the heart rate monitor during his class’ field trip to Fire Station 22.
All the kids gathered around to look at the monitor screen and see the heart beat measurements, and they also wanted to make sure their friend was OK (he was).
Next, a fire fighter demonstrated some of the equipment on the kids. This student was not harmed, though the fireman did ask for a volunteer who didn’t mind being shocked. I think he’d forgotten his audience as his comment scared one or two of the kids as they didn’t get that it was just a joke. After assuring those classmates that their friend was just fine, all was well again (whew!).
Here’s T raising his hand for the umpteenth time during his class field trip to the local fire station. I love that he’s not afraid to ask questions!
Then the fire fighters took the kids inside and around the fire house for a tour of the living quarters, which included the TV room, kitchen, and weight room. Here the kids asked several questions about fire station living, including if the station itself had ever caught fire (good question, T!). Actually, it was T who did a lot of the asking, which didn’t surprise me, his teacher, his classmates, or other volunteer chaperones on the field trip (he is and always has been an inquisitive little dude). By the way, they did admit that the house had caught fire once a long time ago as they’d left a stove burning as they ran out to answer a call for another emergency elsewhere (oops!). Luckily, no real damage occurred (whew again!).
Darth Vader, um, I mean the fire fighter from Station 22 showing off his full garb to the kids during their class field trip.
T tried on the fire fighting jacket. He needed a bit of help… it was slightly large.
All the kids had a chance to try on the fire jacket. They each said it was heavy. Of course, this wasn’t but just one-fourth the weight of the total standard uniform that a fire fighter wears during a typical emergency call.
After the inside tour was over, we went back outside for a final demonstration of one of the fire fighters wearing his full uniform, including air tanks and masks. He told the kids that if they ever find themselves trapped in a fire that they should go toward the person who sounds like “Darth Vader” and not run away from them; that was what his voice sounded like while talking through the air masks. The kids also received other last words of advice, such as what to do if they find matches (show them to an adult right away without touching them) and what number to call if there’s an emergency either because someone is in danger or very sick or unresponsive (call 9-1-1).
The TK class at Tincher with the crew from Fire Station 22 in Long Beach (CA). Thanks for a great field trip, guys!
Of course, no field trip to a fire station is complete without gathering the class up for a group photo… with the fire fighters.
Thanks again to LB Fire Station 22 for a fun and educational morning out, and thanks for keeping Long Beach safe!
Real Mom Time (RMT) 