Young and old alike laughed, learned, and got soaked in the spray of the fire hoses that have protected the lives of Jefferson County for many years as East Jefferson Fire Rescue celebrated its 150th …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.

If you had an active account on our previous website, then you have an account here. Simply reset your password to regain access to your account.

If you did not have an account on our previous website, but are a current print subscriber, click here to set up your website account.

Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.

* Having trouble? Call our circulation department at 360-385-2900, or email our support.

If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.

Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.

If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Young and old alike laughed, learned, and got soaked in the spray of the fire hoses that have protected the lives of Jefferson County for many years as East Jefferson Fire Rescue celebrated its 150th anniversary last Saturday.

The daylong event displayed the history of the fire department not only with the many antique fire trucks on display, but with a series of demonstrations that showed how firefighters have gone to blazes throughout the years.

It all started with bucket brigades to display how things were done before the hoses and pumps came to be.

“As time progressed, we were able to go ahead and start machining equipment that allowed us to move water not by people but through pressure systems, i.e. some type of pump mechanisms that moved water through hoses,” said retired deputy chief Ted Krysinksi as he invited some of the department’s newest recruits up for the “Make and Break” competitions.

In teams of two, the young firefighters showed the skills they’ve honed with hoses by racing to throw and link segments of lines culminating with the winners spraying water at fake flames in a miniature home display.

“We are not lawn sprinklers,” Krysinksi reminded the new recruits, making sure they focused their efforts.

The day also included ladder and rope demonstrations, as well as the crowd favorite, the auto extraction, where firefighters delighted the audience with the jaws of life.

One of the most daring displays of the day was the marine demonstration where the firefighters brought out “Guardian,” their 33-foot Argus class boat. Like a fountain on steroids, they got all the pumps spouting while the boat spun about.

Next, they put the pedal to the metal, making waves as they did figure-eights around the bay.

To close out the afternoon, teams of firefighters geared up in order to get wet while playing a game of “Water Ball.”

“One of the skill sets of our firefighters is the ability to deliver water at locations specific to fire. We’ve built it into a game process, so think of basically water polo, soccer, rugby, darts, and maybe some checkers,” Krysinksi said.

“Checkers? What does checkers have to do with it? Nothing actually, I just wanted to see if you’re paying attention.”

In the game, two teams face off on either side of a large rubber ball hung on high wire with the intent that each team use a fire hose to spray the ball past their opponents.

On this day, however, the wire wasn’t strung very high, and at one point a firefighter took a hose blast to the head hard enough to knock off his helmet.

“Even though we’re bringing you funny games, even though we’re trying to have some enjoyable competition, these are still situations in which we can get ourselves hurt. I want to emphasize that because even though we drill, even though we practice, even though we try to do everything we can to be safe on our job, there’s always something unpredictable and that unpredictability is why this job is so dangerous,” Krysinksi said.

One of the main goals of the event was to inspire the next generation of firefighters.

“The last time we did a muster project was 20 years ago,” Krysinksi said.

Considering 3-year-old Lucas Luong of Port Townsend completed what his mother claimed to be five trips through the obstacle course, and with the number of other children begging to have a turn at the hoses, it seems to have been a soaking success.

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

Other items that may interest you

226 Adams Street Port Townsend, WA 98368 1-360-385-2900