INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Kids may arrive at the Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair this week in search of fast rides and sweet treats, but thanks to Neal Snyder of Clearwater, Fla., they are also in for a fast-paced, interactive fire safety simulation they are bound to remember.
Multiple times daily, Snyder rallies young fair goers to participate in a race and firefighting simulation he calls the “Firefighter Training Show” to train the “next generation of heroes.”
After assuring all kids, parents, and spectators that the show is completely safe with no actual fire involved, he invites all willing participants to suit up in a firefighter jacket and helmet and join him next to his miniature fire truck.
Snyder separates his volunteers into two teams and over the course of the half-hour show, lets them scrub down the firetruck, respond to a fire alarm, unroll and assemble a fire hose, and practice using a fire extinguisher filled with water.
After a practice round, both teams race to return all equipment back to its rightful place on the truck.
On Saturday, 4-year-old Savannah Rubenstein volunteered for the show and was partnered with 6-year-old Jaden Najera, to make up the “little kids team.”
Bryce Byford, a 9-year-old volunteer paired up with adult participant, Carlos Lopez, the stepfather of Najera.
“Jaden needed a little moral support,” said Lindsey Garcia, Najera’s mother. “He’s usually very shy.”
Even though Rubenstein and Najera were both said to be shy kids, they thrust themselves into the competition and worked well together even in front of a cheering crowd.
“It was really fun,” Rubenstein said. “My favorite part was where we were squirting the water.”
Rubenstein practiced crawling underneath the smoke through the small fire house with the other participants. She said if her house was ever on fire, “she would just jump out of the house.”
Though Rubenstein’s response to “jump out of the house” came effortlessly, Snyder took the time to explain to his captive audience two rules kids should always follow in case of a real fire.
“Don’t hide, get outside,” was Snyder’s first rule, followed by “crawl low under smoke.”
Byford said he would encourage all kids at the fair to participate in the show.
“It’s good practice so if your house does catch on fire you don’t get killed,” said Byford. Byford took the competition very seriously and worked hard under the hot sun to win the race, but in the end, Lopez put the brakes on to let the “little kids” claim the victory.
The prize awarded to the winning team was the opportunity to climb the fire tower and spray what Snyder tells the kids is a powerful water cannon toward innocent audience members watching from the bleacher seats.
Byford joined Rubenstein and Najera at the top of the tower to spray the stands, but in the end confetti is all the cannon produced and every one walked away from the show warm and dry.
Snyder’s firefighter training show simultaneously educates participants, allows kids to run off some energy, gives parents a chance to sit and watch from the stands, and is altogether a highlight of the fair.
