Fire Department visit

Yesterday we had to opportunity to visit the Fire Department here in Pinetown (Durban). 

The Commissioner did a well presented information session on how the Fire Department operates and what type of vehicles they have.

Here he demonstrated what their fire uniform look like.

Very interesting point that I guess many people did not know is, the tank on their back is not oxygen. As oxygen and fire is dangerous. The tank is filled with over 200 bar air and only lasts up to 35 minutes. This all depends on how fit the firefighter is, how warm it is and other factors.

Here he tells us a little more of the 'jaws of life' and the scissor.

Here you can see what the scissor looks like. This machine works on hydraulics and can cut through metal just like we cut through paper. On the floor you see is the jaws of life. It is there to help cut the car apart in the event of an accident. This machine can lift up to 22tons.

Here you can see a video clip of the Jaws of life fire training.

Some very important facts to know:
1. Call the Fire Department.
2. Get out of the burning building.
3. If there is loads of smoke in the house, go down to your knees and crawl. The section underneath the smoke is clear, the section above the smoke is poisonous, you do not want to walk upright.
4. If your clothing is on fire, do not rip it off you! Cotton fabrics pushes fire away, synthetic fibers draws it in, you could rip your skin off.
5. If you are on fire, do not run, the oxygen and wind will feed the fire more. Cover you face, go down to ground and roll until you extinguish the fire. 
6. NEVER throw water on a burning oil pan, it can explode.

The kids got to ride in the fire truck (yes and mom too)

After all the demonstrations and important facts, it was fun time for the kids. They started up the machine to make some foam for the kids to play in. This foam is just normal bubble bath, but the real foam they use in fire fighting is a special protein based chemical, that apparently smells really horrible.

After everything was done a final picture of our group.

It is extremely important that we teach our kids what to do in any emergency situation. Also we need to respect what these people do for us. Just think they put their life's on the line every single day, just so we can be safe. May God keep them safe every single day!