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Payton Riordan, 5, tries to control a fire hose with Ocean City firefighter Dan Boardman at an open house at the fire department headquarters on Thursday. Officials say the annual event helps the city’s fire company meet members of the community and to provide a message of fire safety.
Jordyn Pollock, 8, hands out pretzels at an open house for the Ocean City Fire Company on Thursday. The event also included games, activities and a live burn demonstration. Her father, Kenny Pollock, is an Ocean City firefighter.
Ocean City firefighters demonstrate how quickly fire can spread, part of several safety and fire prevention activities and demonstrations at the event.
Ocean City firefighters work to put out the blaze.
Ocean City firefighters at an open house on Thursday demonstrated how quickly fire can spread, part of several safety and fire prevention activities and demonstrations at the event.
OCEAN CITY — Before the fire, a small room stood alone on West Avenue, between the Ocean City Primary School and the fire department headquarters at Sixth Street.
It looked homey, if cramped, including a bed almost covered in pillows, an armchair, decorations on the walls.
There is evidence that the blaze was deliberately set. Mostly because a firefighter walked around to the back and set it, while a large crowd stood behind a safety line, many of the children chanting “light it up, light it up.”
It was the major spectacle of the annual Ocean City Fire Department Open House on Thursday, presented each year by the department and IAFF Local 4032, coinciding with national Fire Prevention Month.
Off-duty firefighters showed families around the fire station and filled them up with pretzels, hot dogs and beverages. Games, activities and information tables were set in the wide bays that usually house the fire trucks, including pads to practice “stop, drop and roll.”
Outside, kids had a chance to try handling a fire hose and to see the vehicles and equipment up-close.
The event has taken place for about 10 years, according to Deputy Chief Bernie Walker. It is a chance to let the community members know what firefighters do and to increase fire safety.
Rainy weather may have reduced the turnout, and the weather also meant canceling a planned helicopter landing, but things were dry enough for firefighters to demonstrate extraction equipment used when someone is trapped in a vehicle collision.
They had set up a serious three-car crash outside, using cars from the city’s impound lot, and a team showed how they would safely free trapped passengers, first removing the car doors and then the roof.
But the live burn demonstration drew the most interest, with people lined up on the sidewalk. Many children wore plastic fire helmets handed out earlier in the evening.
“That’s usually a big hit with the community,” Walker said.
Using a loudspeaker, Capt. Bill Martin talked to the crowd, especially the children, emphasizing the importance of leaving a building when there is a fire. He said families should have an agreed place to meet outside.
It took seconds for the flames to begin to fill the room. As the flames poured out the front and those on the sidewalk could begin to feel the heat, Martin gave a rundown of when firefighters would likely have received a call and when they would be en route. The firefighters were in position as the fire started and watched as the tiny room filled with dense smoke.
“We cannot breathe inside a room like this,” Martin said.
In about a minute, orange flames engulfed the demonstration room, and the firefighters turned on the hoses, putting it out faster than it spread.
The participating firefighters were on their own time, Walker said. He added that state agencies and other city groups, including police and lifeguards, helped the department host the open house.
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A large crowd turned out Thursday for an open house presented by the Ocean City Fire Department. Firefighters say the annual event is a good w…
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Payton Riordan, 5, tries to control a fire hose with Ocean City firefighter Dan Boardman at an open house at the fire department headquarters on Thursday. Officials say the annual event helps the city’s fire company meet members of the community and to provide a message of fire safety.
Jordyn Pollock, 8, hands out pretzels at an open house for the Ocean City Fire Company on Thursday. The event also included games, activities and a live burn demonstration. Her father, Kenny Pollock, is an Ocean City firefighter.
Ocean City firefighters demonstrate how quickly fire can spread, part of several safety and fire prevention activities and demonstrations at the event.
Ocean City firefighters work to put out the blaze.
Ocean City firefighters at an open house on Thursday demonstrated how quickly fire can spread, part of several safety and fire prevention activities and demonstrations at the event.
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