Several Willingboro firefighters and their children participated in the annual Bring Your Child To Work Day. The day was held at the firehouse on Thursday, April 23rd. Captain Sitzenstock, Lieutenant Friddell, Firefighter Costello, and Firefighter C. Clark brought their children to work for the day. The children were given the opportunity to participate in most of the same activities that the firefighters participate in on a daily basis.

The morning started with everyone having breakfast together, and receiving the morning briefing from Captain Gardner. After the briefing, everybody went to work. The first thing to be cleaned was the firehouse. The children assisted the firefighters with mopping floors, cleaning windows, vacuuming the carpets, and cleaning up the kitchen and eating area. Once those assignments were completed, the kids took some time to look at the equipment on Engine 1613 while it was receiving it's morning readiness check. After looking over some of the equipment, the kids helped with washing and drying Engines 1613 and 1632.

Fire prevention was the next order of business. Captain Sitzenstock took the kids to the Fire Safety Trailer. While at the trailer, Captain Sitzenstock reviewed kitchen safety, smoke detectors, and how to safely escape a smoke filled room. Once the fire prevention demonstration was completed by Captain Sitzenstock, everyone made their way inside for lunch.

After lunch the kids participated in several training evolutions. First the kids learned how to force open locked doors. Their dads showed them how to use hand tools to force open a locked door. The next training evolution was using air bags to lift up a car. Air bags are special pieces of thick rubber that inflate with air and can lift heavy objects. For the last training evolution of the afternoon, Firefighter Costello set up a physical challenge course in the firehouse. During the course the kids had to use speed, balance, crawling, and lifting techniques to finish the course.

At the end of the day everyone took pictures as a group and with their dads. The kids even got a quick visit from Chief of Department Burnett who had been in meetings for most of the day. He was happy to see that the kids had taken an interest in coming to work and seeing what their dad's do for a living. We look forward to having the kids back at the firehouse next year.