Belton Fire Department Open House in October

Let the kids see the inside of a real fire station during the Belton Fire Department Open House.

When I was a kid, the town we were living in got its own fire truck. They threw a party and invited everyone to come take a look at it. My dad took my brother and I down to the new fire house.

We got to sit in the cab, and I noticed all the cool switches. I said, "I want to be a fireman so I can use all these switches, because these are cool."

One of the volunteer guys said, "Well you can't hit these switches until you learn what they do, and how everything works on the truck."

"What? No, I just want to flip the switches. Let someone else learn how the truck works."

"Well that's not how this works."

"Then this is stupid. Dad, lets go back home. I think Hogan's Heroes comes on in a half an hour."

And that's the story of how I never became a fireman.

You can let your young ones realize that being a fireman is actually really hard by taking them to the Belton Fire Department Open House on Saturday, October 13th at Station #2 at 420 Sparta Road.

It's Fire Prevention Week, and they'll open their doors for free tours and more to celebrate and educate. Activities include chances to win prizes, face painting, hotdogs, chips, popcorn, & cookies.

Plus you can see a helicopter, the fire trucks, an ambulance. There'll also be free smoke detector signups, free firestop signups, and photos with real firemen.