Fire hall holds first open house in seven years

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Uxbridge Fire Department opened its doors to the public on Sunday for the first open house since 2018, offering demonstrations on search and rescue and automobile extraction and giving youngsters a small taste of being a firefighter. (The fire hall was open to the public last year when the firefighter memorial statue was unveiled in October.)

Walter Brouwer learns some tricks from Uxbridge firefighter Justin Taylor. Photo by John Cavers

A small obstacle course was set up for children in which they first had to carry a heavy hose, then set a ladder against a wall, climb through a window, use a hose to knock out a "fire," drag a "body" several feet and then finish with a drop and roll. Kids also were allowed to climb into the fire trucks.

In the search and rescue, they watched as firefighters demonstrated how they crawl through a smoke-filled home room by room, using their hands to search for people and finally, having located a person, pulling the person out of the building.

Also on hand was Durham Region social services, who said their assistance is often required when people lose their dwellings to fire.

Fire chief Mike MacDonald said the open house is "first and foremost a public education for each age group. We teach the public about everything firefighters do." He said the vehicle extraction demonstration, for example, carried the message to drive safely.

However, he noted the most important message was the need for working smoke detectors in homes. He said nine out of 10 fire deaths occur because there is no smoke alarm.

MacDonald also said more people need to be aware of the flashing green light firefighters use on their cars as they drive to the fire hall for a duty call. He said the green light does not give firefighters the right to break traffic laws to get to the fire hall quickly and awareness of the green light would see other motorists pull over to let the firefighter pass. He said many people do not realize that most of the firefighters are volunteers.

MacDonald said the department tries to attend every classroom in the township every year, noting that "kids tend to take information home."

Perhaps the star of the afternoon was the department's aerial truck, with its 100-foot bucket-bearing ladder rising high above the fire hall. MacDonald said the department does extensive training on the aerial truck.

Five new firefighters will start with the department in January, bringing the department to full strength.