March 19, 2024

Youth learn fire safety at Sully fundraiser

Dozens show up to learn how to evacuate building

Firefighters do their best to get out into schools and help teach children about fire safety.

Saturday in Sully, it was the firefighters’ turn to meet those children halfway — demonstrating some of their equipment and fire safety drills in the middle of town.

Dozens of children learned how to safely execute fire drills and climb out of building at Saturday’s event at the Sully Community Center on Saturday evening, hosted by the Sully Rural Fire and Ambulance Department. In addition to collecting at-will contributions for the small meal that was served inside, the department provided a photo slide show of firefighter calls and training, fire truck rides around the city square and evacuation drills using a mobile, two-story “smokehouse” that is filled with fog to simulate a smoke-filled building.

“It’s something we try to do every year,” said Sully Assistant Fire Chief Dave Foster. “It’s something we do right after National Fire Prevention Week.”

Sully Fire personnel recently made trips to the city’s public and private schools to conduct demonstrations. Foster said third grade is sort of minimum age where most children can understand the concepts, follow directions and are big enough to safely crawl out of most buildings.

Inside, free-will donations were being collected next to a display of a new thermal imaging device. The department’s main stated upcoming goal is to raise money to buy a new device, used to detect heat behind or within walls.

The smokehouse was popular with children, some of whom asked to complete the drill more than once. The fog device used to simulate smoke is not nearly as popular with firefighters and others volunteering to run it, as it produces a bitter, sulfuric-type smell after a few uses.

Foster said all-volunteer department, which has 14 firefighters, six trucks and one ambulance, is well-funded through a tax levy. He said Sully Fire, which has been around for 134 years, appreciates the support from the community.

“We don’t do a lot of fundraising,” Foster said. “But what we get, we are grateful for that.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com