Anyone who has ever seen children and fire engines together knows that the latter attracts the former like nobody's business.
For many years, the Cache Creek Volunteer Fire Department has been acknowledging the love youngsters have for all things to do with firefighting with their "Fire Chief for the Day" event. Each year in October, three lucky students at Cache Creek Elementary are selected to take part: one as fire chief for a day, the other two as firefighters.
This year's participants were Ava Kennedy (fire chief) and Austyn Harkness and Wyatt Porter (firefighters). On Oct. 11 their school day got off to an a very special start: each of the children was picked up in Engine 4 and then dropped at Cache Creek Elementary. Engine 4 was there to pick them up after school, and the trio were taken to the fire hall.
There they were given a tour of the hall and its equipment and kitted out in turnout gear for a variety of activities, which included taking turns on the (deceptively powerful) fire hose, with a little bit of help and guidance from firefighter Alana Peters.
Each child was presented with a plaque commemorating their visit, and given a smoke alarm to take home with them. The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week was "Smoke Alarms: Make Them WORK For You!", and each of the young firefighters — thanks to the Cache Creek Volunteer Fire Department — will be able to play a part in making their homes a little bit safer.
