Carlsbad FD Open House

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The Carlsbad Fire Department held its 13th Annual Open House, in which an estimated 2,000 people attended. The Open House included helicopters, fire trucks, and several demos, including a burn room, where firefighters  demonstrated how quickly a fire can spread.

It takes less than a minute for a working smoke detector to alert residents of a fire in their home and less than fifteen seconds for dispatchers to alert the fire department. Within a couple of minutes, the entire room is engulfed in flames. "That's what we're trying to show them and let people know that it is just normal, ordinary combustibles that you would have in your house: couches, drapes, pictures, books, all that good stuff. There's no flammable liquids. Nothing was added," says Captain Chris Lawrence of Carlsbad Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Mike Davis organized this year's Open House and credits the CERT team, Police Junior Explorers, and other volunteers for helping bring it together. He says he would like to incorporate the local police department more in next year's Open House. However, this year, the Open House focused on fire safety and public outreach. Demonstrations included live fire, fire extinguisher demo, crawl low in smoke, and Exit Drills in the Home, EDITH. The Firefighter's Association even showed up to cook hot dogs for the crowd.

Firefighters say that the Open House is helping. Each year, they receive fewer fire calls.

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Author:Deanne Goodman - FDNNTV.com