Fire Prevention Day and Open House Ideas...

[yfdgricker]

Ok, those of you who went to the Fire Prevention Day and Open House, what are some suggestions that can be done next year to make it even better? There wasn't alot of turnout this year which bothered me a little. What do other departments do to make this event successful and a public relations success??

I went to Warren's Open House and they had the usual car extrication and stuff but there was wall to wall people!!! The turnout was amazing!

Warren's open house had Stat Medivac displaying the helicopter in the parking lot and fresh popcorn. They, like Youngstown, only had the open house at one of their stations, the central fire station.

Canfield's opened both their stations to the public. As far as I know there wasn't much in the way of activities but Barb and I did get there late so there may have been more turnout and demonstrations earlier.

Youngstown, I like the rope team demonstration! That's different! If you have a unique team like that, by all means show it off!

Here are a couple of suggestions I can think off of the top of my head for the next Yougnstown Fire Prevention Day and Open House and they are in no particular order...

1. Bring more trucks down. Let the public see all the apparatus. You don't have to bring them down all at the same time. Stagger them so you dont leave parts of the city unprotected. There is something to be said about the way Russia has military parades to show off their mite. Let's show the public by flexing the YFD muscle! Use the side parking lot to display all your apparatus for people to admire! Pull the Parade Truck out there. Bring the Inspection Bureau cars there and show them off. Even though they don't look too spectacular from an equipment standpoint, it still shows off what you have. The Malibues 9sp?) do actually look really nice.

2. Bring some other non FD units to show off. The County Haz Mat has been absent the past few years. How about the MSCO Mobile Command Center? It was nice to see Rural Metro and my friend Greg there! You can even get the YPD Bomb Squad truck or the Dare Cars down there to show off.

3. Your raffle is excellent. You always get tons of great stuff to give out. Keep that up! Cookies and punch are nice also!

4. Keep the rope rescue demo and the extrication demos. Think about adding a simple demonstation of the gear the firefighters wear. Take a firefighter and have him put on full turnout gear and air pack and PASS device and radio and anything else you use on a daily basis in the field. Have someone during the demonstration explain what each piece of clothing and each tool is used for and how it works.

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[yfdgricker]

<Now Part 2>

4. Continued. How about a fire extinguisher demonstration showing the proper way to use an extinguisher.

5. Bring the Arson truck down and show some of the equipment on it. Same with the rope rescue truck. Pull out the Maintenance trucks and show off the shop. Have someone guiding the tour and take small groups so no one touches anything or gets hurt. Does the public know there are mecahnics who do the work on the trucks in house? Probably not.

6. See about getting a medical helicopter in to look at. How about the WRCS Mobile Intensive Care Unit.

7. Set up one of the ladders. They look cool set up. Don't set them both up because if there is a fire, well, that could be a problem

8. I get great feedback when I set my table up and show pictures and pieces of the history of the YFD. The slide show I presented this year also got some very nice comments.

9. Bagpipers! What's cooler than having some bagpipers come in and give a demonstration!

Ideas, ideas, ideas. I'll try and come up with more. I'd love to hear anyone elses feedback and any "my department does this" posts are welcomed!! Let's get those thinking caps on!

[Hazguy]

 Hey, I have an idea .... advertise next time ..... I didn't hear word one about the Open House except from you, Greg