Chevy Chase Fire Station

Last Friday Ethan and I took a break from the cleaning and packing to visit a local fire station. I think I was more impressed than he was (especially with their wall of fame- pictures from all the crashes and fires they've helped at that list the fatalities, etc. They even had pictures from the Pentagon on 9-11 where they got called in). He loved the engines though and the firemen were really neat. They spent a lot of time having one fireman (dressed up in his gear) put on his mask, then take it off, then put it on again and take it off again. The point in this exercise they explained was that one of the hardest parts of their jobs is that when they go into a fire to look for kids, they're hiding under furniture. And where an adult would know it's a fireman walking in the door, kids think it's a monster (they're kind of scary looking in all their gear) and they keep hiding. So their motto is "firemen need hugs" so that kids will run up to them and give them hugs and get out of a fire safely. Something I'd never thought of and thought I should pass along.