By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Walpole Fire Department (WFD) opened their doors for an open house where locals welcomed to explore the facility.
Walpole Firefighters stood by the entrance to welcome people into what can only be described as a very successful open house. Happening at the same time was Walpole Recreation’s Falloween event, so many of the children came to this open house sporting their very best Halloween costumes.
The WFD’s fire trucks were lined up with all the doors open for kids to hop in and explore. It was the perfect photo opportunity for any parent. Alongside the fire trucks was an ambulance that little ones were also welcome to explore. Some were quite hesitant at first about the experience, but once they talked with the firefighters and explored the space, parents had a hard time getting their young ones to leave.
In between looking at all the trucks, one could help themselves to some pizza and other sweet treats. There were some Junior Firefighter hats for kids to take as well as some stickers and other souvenirs. In the back of the station, kids and their guardians could try out the fire hose and put out a “fire” that was made out of wood.
This year’s fire safety theme was “Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work For You.” Firefighters spent time going over the importance of having working smoke alarms and having an escape plan from one’s home.
Lieutenant Peter Armstrong, who was seen educating those in attendance about fire safety and the different parts of the trucks, was also in attendance. Lieutenant Armstrong shared, “Every year we put on this event in October in honor of Fire Safety Month. It is a great opportunity for community members to come out and see our equipment and learn all about fire safety. This year we are in collaboration with Domino's Pizza who are bringing all the pizzas in. They are also offering a service where they hand out flyers with every pizza bought in which the WFD will come and check people’s smoke alarms and their batteries. The flyers contain a number that people can call and we will set up a time to go and check things out.”
Smiling faces were seen all throughout the day and the Walpole Fire Department had yet another great turnout for their open house. Many are hopeful and excited for this same open house next year.
