SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — Fire Station 3 on Blue Star Highway was packed with 500 kids and adult Thursday evening for their annual Fire Safety Fun Night.
South Haven Area Emergency Services hosted the two-hour event. Kids raced through an obstacle course and played games involving fire hoses, water and buckets while also learning about fire safety and prevention.
“Fires happen to anybody,” said Paul Quinn, fire prevention officer with SHAES. “Unlike in the movies where you can see the actors and all that stuff, real fires are very very dark and very scary.”
It's a message they hope everyone understood, he said. Fire crews reminded parents and kids about the importance of knowing what to do when your clothes catch fire -- stop, drop, and roll -- and knowing the address of where you are at all times.
“If you’re not calling from a landline [phone] the operator may not necessarily get your address,” he said. “Specifics about the color of your house all those types of things, the cross streets, that’s important for us to get their in a timely matter.”
Another tip firefighters stressed was the significance of having working smoke detectors in people’s homes. In most fires, it’s the smoke that kills people not the fire itself, he said.
“The carbon monoxide or the cyanide that are odorless [and] colorless, you will not smell when you’re sleeping,” Quinn said. “If the smoke detector doesn’t wake you up, we’re going to find you in your bed.”
