Posted Mar. 8, 2023

I’ll bet you wanted to be a fireman when you were young. Big awesome truck – lights demanding attention, sirens whaling down the road. Off to save someone’s life. How exciting!

Most communities have a fire department, some volunteer. They are essential. But when do you get to climb in a real pumper truck and study all the controls? What turns on the flashers? There are siren buttons on the floor that trigger the piercing air horns. SO much to take in. The driver is called “the engineer” and is in charge of all the controls. In the passenger seat is the fire chief. He’s watching the side roads so no one pulls out in front. If he thinks someone isn’t noticing us, he hits the floor pedal that blasts the air horn. That got their attention! In the back are two firemen all suited up in their fireproof suits, boots and helmets. On their backs are air tanks.

When we arrive, they immediately grab hoses and head for the fire. The engineer takes the engine out of drive mode and into pump mode. A 500 horsepower water pump! He turns the valves to the hoses and 800 gallons of water from the onboard tank start pouring over the flames to cool it below the burning temperature. Lots of adrenaline here, but everybody knows their job.

Just sitting in this massive fire engine has you daydreaming about the fire you might tackle. Wait a minute... listen.... that’s the 911 dispatcher. There’s a fire just down the road. Gotta go!

Play and imagination are the most powerful tools in a kids life. They don’t know enough about the world yet to define where they will go. Besides, the world is changing so fast they may end up “doing” what hasn’t even been invented yet. So building confidence, trying things out, exploring what if, is everything. Pretend is powerful – let it flow, encourage it.

Setting imagination ablaze is the goal of Discovery Park. Test it, try it. How does this work? How fast are we going? QUESTION: would you want to be the “engineer”, the “chief”, or the “attack firefighters”? How would you park the truck if you knew there were explosives in the building? Are there signs on the windows where kids or old people might be trapped? Lots of training – lots of training. And sitting in a real fire truck and studying all the controls is where it all starts. Come on in. Adults – let your play and imagination go!