October is national fire prevention month, and the Evanston Fire Department celebrated with an open house on Oct. 7. The event was held at Fire Station Nine, and had a variety of activities to show the community what firefighters do.

A main focus of the event was to educate the public on fire safety and prevention. Multiple booths lined the street, such as a lifeguarding booth with a life size dummy to showcase CPR and a police department information booth. 

“[The open house] is an opportunity as a fire department and a police department to show what we provide to the community,” said Fire Chief Paul Polep.

At 12:15 p.m., there was a demonstration of their technical rescue team, which showed how firefighters would work to get people out of a building and safely on the ground. Later, in a safe environment, a model fire was set up. There was also a demonstration of a car extraction and a display of how to use your fire extinguisher in a kitchen fire.

On Oct. 14, at ETHS, there will be a fire preparedness fair to make sure citizens stay safe and do what they can to prevent fires in their homes.

“Be smart around your home,” said Polep, when giving advice on fire prevention.

To do that, he recommended lots of kitchen safety, such as making sure your handles are in while cooking, and turning burners off when you’re done.

Overall, the event drew a large crowd, of a variety of ages. A huge inflatable fireman was flocked by excited kids, and a demonstration of how a fire truck worked was popular. Participants were able to enjoy fire-related activities while also learning the proper practices to ensure their safety in the event of a fire.