Awhile back, Hayley told me her class was going on a field trip to the fire station and they needed a few parent volunteers. She really wanted to go so I said sure. The truth is, I think I was just as excited as she was because I had never been to a fire station myself – I must have had a deprived childhood!

We went last Thursday and I wasn’t sure what to expect of a group of Kindergarten kids outside of the classroom but they were pretty good most of the time. What was especially cute was the fact that they had all watched a fire video the day before so they knew all kinds of random trivia. They kept putting their hands up and telling the firemen things like, “your ladder goes 100 feet high!” and “your boots have steel in them”. The firemen were so surprised at how much a bunch of five- and six-year-olds knew.

We got a tour of the hose truck, the ladder truck, and even the search and rescue boat and they were all really nice. They clowned around with the kids a lot. At the end they did a demonstration of the ladder, the one that goes 100 feet up. My god. It is insane. I took one look and said if I ever needed to be rescued with that, they’d have to shoot me up with Valium or knock me out before they could get me down the damn thing. Even one of the firemen said he’d been on one that goes 130 feet high and he admitted, “yeah, it’s a bit… uh, SCARY.”

Yes, just a little scary.

Just when they were finished putting the ladder back down, the alarm suddenly went off. We got to see first hand (as we all rushed off to the side to get out of the way) exactly how fast they can get dressed and in the trucks. It was quite a bustling end to our visit but at least we were done rather than just starting out!

The kids were super animated on the way back to the school and then we sat while the teacher read a fireman story to them. Once that was done it was time for lunch so I left Hayley for a couple more hours, but I really enjoyed going. Too bad the year is over and volunteering is almost over. Because I went to this and to an event earlier in the year and George recorded them singing at Christmas time, we got invited to a little assembly and tea. I’m not sure if we’ll go but it’s really nice that they show the appreciation. I know not all parents are able to do stuff like this so I’m really grateful that my schedule allows for me to take part.