The Annual Mattapoisett Fire Department Open House is one of those Tri-Town events not to be missed. With its free food, fun fire safety activities, and live fire and rescue demonstrations, it’s easy to walk away feeling energized by the adrenaline of the close encounters with danger, albeit controlled encounters with danger, and with a renewed enthusiasm to inspect the fire alarms in your house.
Everyone was enthralled by the State Police K-9s sniffing out fire accelerants and explosives during a live demonstration, and fascinated by the Jaws of Life extraction techniques of removing the roof of a car like a tin can lid performed right before their eyes. But it’s the live extinguishing of a controlled fire that gets the crowd excited year after year.
Inside a roughly 30 square-foot plywood “room” sat a comfy recliner, loveseat, and desk chair. From the moment the spark was ignited from behind the sofa until the tiny room was engulfed in flames, only a matter a few seconds shy of a minute had passed before the fire had spread, showing just how combustible our modern materials are and how important the presence of working fire alarms is when you only have seconds to escape.
While the firefighters finished knocking down the fire and neutralizing the scene, Lt. Jim Harlfinger explained how modern synthetic materials such as those found in furniture ignite faster and burn hotter than natural materials and wood used more frequently in the past.
Inside the fire station that had been cleared of fire apparatuses to make way for the public, kids played trivia in exchange for prizes, found balloons and plastic fire hats for them to take home, made some colorful crafts, and enjoyed free pizza and goodies before the event was over by 1:00 pm.
This year’s open house was rescheduled from the usual weekday evening time to the Saturday 11:00 am to 1:00 pm time slot due to the enduring threat of eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in the region.
By Jean Perry