More than 300 people turned out for Rock Community Fire Protection District’s open house, held April 23 at its headquarters on Telegraph Road in Arnold, public education specialist Stephanie Jackson said.
“It was very windy, but it was a nice day,” she said. “The breeze was an obstacle, but like everything else in the fire service, we adapted and overcame it. We were able to move our vendors inside.”
The open house featured free food, tours of the headquarters and safety demonstrations. Visitors also got to explore firetrucks, an ambulance and a rescue boat.
“I saw so many kids climbing in and out of firetrucks,” Jackson said. “They also had a blast climbing in the ambulance.”
Representatives from Rock Fire, the Jefferson County Health Department, Missouri Poison Control, Arnold Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County 911 Dispatch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Windsor C-1 School District’s Teen CERT program and Rock Township Ambulance District were at the open house.
“We had great support from our community partners,” Jackson said. “They had a lot of fun, educational activities. Jeffco 911 had a telephone there and practiced calling 911 with kids, and the Health Department was fitting kids for bicycle helmets.”
The safety demonstrations included a “sprinkler room” provided by the St. Louis Fire Sprinkler Alliance to show how sprinkler systems work to help extinguish fires, and a vehicle-extrication exhibit to show how firefighters cut open a vehicle to rescue occupants.
Members of SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital’s Safe Kids St. Louis program were on hand to check child safety seats or install safety seats in vehicles for free during the event.
Jackson said eight child safety seats were installed during the event.
“We also do installations at our firehouses as people request them,” she said. “We are huge advocates of children being in car seats and being in the correct car seat for them that is installed properly.”
Jackson said Rock Fire plans to hold movie nights at each of its firehouses this summer, and the district plans to have another open house next year.
Rock Fire covers Arnold, Kimmswick and parts of Imperial and Barnhart. It has five houses, including two in Arnold, two in the Arnold area and one in Imperial.