By Kris Rued-Clark

MARSHFIELD — Get Fired Up For Safety, an annual event hosted by several businesses on Marshfield’s North Central Avenue, will be held on Sunday, Oct. 9, the beginning of Fire Safety Week. Volunteer and professional firefighters from Marshfield and surrounding communities will present safety demonstrations for families.

This year the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department will provide a walkthrough and demonstration of a new safety trailer.

Aaron Andre joined the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department in 2004 and became chief in 2015. “We’ve been running the old safety trailer a few years now,” explained Andre. “The new one is a lot more technologically advanced. It has a lot more simulations, including the event of an earthquake or a tornado.”

The new safety trailer is an enclosed cargo trailer that has been retrofitted to look like a bedroom and kitchen. People walk through it and can witness various demonstrations. “The kitchen has a stove and a garbage can that simulate fire. We show how to take a fire extinguisher and put out the fire,” said Andre. “It’s going to be one of the things we try to do depending on how the time works out.”

The interior of the safety trailer contains a bedroom and a kitchen.

As families walk through the safety trailer, members of the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department will explain fire safety in the home. “We tell them what not to do and what to do in the case of a fire,” said Andre.

He finds that his fellow volunteer firefighters enjoy being part of Get Fired Up For Safety. “We get a good turnout. It’s a good opportunity for us to help people see the aspects that they can do, safety considerations they can practice, and know what to do so that it becomes second nature,” Andre said.

Andre’s favorite part of the event is “to see how excited the kids are to learn and to see all the different apparatuses. In case something bad happens — we hope it never does — but we like teaching kids to be prepared. To see them get excited about putting smoke detectors in their homes or to change the batteries, it’s good to see that excitement in younger people.”

For Andre, the most rewarding aspect of serving on the department is to know how much the community appreciates and supports the fire department. “We’re there for them,” added Andre.

Get Fired Up For Safety begins at noon on Oct. 9 with a parade of fire and emergency vehicles. The vehicles depart from the fairgrounds, head west on 14th Street, turn north onto Central Avenue, and end in the parking lots of north-side businesses including Culver’s, Rose Bowl Lanes, House of Heating, Gross Motors, Pioneer Bank, Office Max, and Festival Foods.

Demonstrations and displays encourage fire prevention and safety. Children may test their skills during the Junior Firefighters’ Challenge in the Festival Foods parking lot. A favorite youth activity is the Teddy Bear Drop, in which firefighters attach small parachutes to children’s stuffed animals, carry them up the ladder, and then drop them. Children are encouraged to bring their favorite medium-to-small-sized stuffed animal or character for the drop. Hiller’s Party Rentals will set up a pay-per-play area, weather permitting. Adults are invited to bring their fire extinguishers for a safety check and refill from Steel Tech.

Participating fire departments include Arpin, Auburndale, Cameron, Hewitt, Lincoln, Marshfield, McMillan, Pittsville, Richfield, Rock, Rudolph, Spencer, Stratford, and Vesper. Other participants include Hiller’s Party Rentals, Ministry Saint Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Pioneer Bank, Spirit Medical Transportation Service, Steel Tech, Tricor Insurance, and Wood County Dispatch.

For more details go to the Get Fired Up For Safety Facebook page.