Summit kids shouted no Saturday when firefighter/paramedic Chris Weber asked whether they call 911 when they’re hungry.
The exchange came during Weber’s kitchen fire demonstration at the Summit Fire Department’s open house, which drew more than 400 people to the station on Oct. 3, Fire Chief Anthony Anderson said. People watching from outside chuckled at the kids’ answers as Weber went over when to call 911: only in an emergency.
Weber explained the process as firefighters showed how to put out a kitchen fire with an extinguisher. He also stressed calling 911 even after a fire is out, so firefighters can make sure the house is safe.
Abraham Zepeda came dressed as a firefighter. He climbed into the driver’s seat of a fire engine, waving and making siren sounds. He loves visiting the fire department, his father said.
Weber and Capt. Jose “Joe” Amador organize the open house each year, Anderson said. He also thanked department members and the Summit Fire Explorers for their help.
Attendance grows every year, Anderson said, and he joked that “we may have to move the next open house to Summit Park.”
“We hope next year’s event will be even bigger, with more activities and more community information to share,” he said.
The open house ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the station, 7339 W. 59th St. Visitors picked up safety tips, information and giveaways, and stopped by tables from the Argo-Summit Lions Club, 1-800-Board Up, Canadian National Railway Police and Marisol Torres Farmers Insurance. Kids had a face painter and jump houses. Hot dogs, chips and snow cones were free.
In Justice, kids climbed into a ladder truck Sunday at the Roberts Park Fire Protection District’s annual Fire Prevention Open House. They aimed a fire hose at a box and let the water pressure push it, and they swung a big red mallet to hammer open a small door, an example of the work firefighters do.
Firefighters also cut open a car in a simulated crash and staged a demonstration of a house fire.
The open house ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 4 at Fire Station 1, 8611 S. Roberts Road.
“This is a great event for the community and we enjoy doing it every year,” Roberts Park Fire Chief Christopher Spoo said.
The district used to hold the event at the Hickory Hills Street Fair, Spoo said. A few years ago, firefighters decided that hosting it at the firehouse “would be more for the communities we serve to get together and see the firehouse and get to know us,” he said.
Fire Prevention Week runs Oct. 4-10 this year.
