Monterey Park Fire Department held an Open House at Station 61 on Newmark Avenue on May 30th.  Quint 61 was displayed along with the Urban Search and Rescue unit, the two gator jeeps, Paramedic Rescue Ambulance 61 and Truck 61 for the residents and their guests to inspect and ask questions about all of the fire and rescue equipment.

Sparky, the firedog visited with Jimmy Gin and Vincent Camacho at the CERT booth. Members of the CERT are trained to respond to emergencies in disasters.

Tyler was the first of the many children to put on the turnout coat and helmet. The firefighters helped him pull a hose, attach it to a fireplug, hammer on a roof, carry a ladder and spray water on a burning building.

Firefighter-paramedic Cacciatori planned this event with the help of Fire Chief Scott Haberle and his fellow firefighters to give back to the community.

Children participated in face painting and received balloon toys. They also collected fire hats, badges, balloons and coloring books.

The firefighters provided a hot dog lunch to all of the guests.

Some of the children tried on the firefighters equipment. They said the turnout coat was heavy.

Firefighters Landyn Bailey, Dominic Garcia and Ralph Weissenberger showed the audience how fast they could dress to attend a fire. Their time is two minutes or less. Some brave children posed for pictures with their heroes.

New hires Jonathan Chang and Cory Kilburn will be attending courses to be come Monterey Park firefighters.

Mr. Chang lives in the Huntington Beach and Tustin areas. He attended Edison High School, UCI and Santa Ana College.

Mr. Kilburn lives in Rancho Cucamonga. He attended Chino High School and Santa Ana College. He is already a certified paramedic.

Firefighters showed the residents how to do sidewalk CPR.  They explained that a person could begin to save a life before the first responders arrived at the scene.

Firefighter Ryan Waddle set up the ladder on Quint 61and walked up to the very top of it to the delight of the children of all ages. Our ladder truck can reach up to seven stories of a building.

Firefighters Ryan Waddle, Tyler Ayala, Jonathan Chang, Will Dennick and Cory Kilburn demonstrated the use of the “jaws of life” to rescue accident victims. They cut the car up and removed the roof as the audience watch.

Residents met their firefighters and received helpful information on fire prevention and CERT Training.

Sparky, the firedog, made several new friends at the Monterey Park Fire Department.