Family activities that you can do at the fire station

If there is one thing everyone can agree on is that family means everything to a person. They offer comfort and support in ways that cannot be found outside of them. Most firefighters have their own families at home waiting for them to come back safely from a hard day of work. Unfortunately, the hard work that firefighters put in can be long and arduous work, which can take a lot of time away from home. 

Some nights are even spent sleeping at the fire station and remain there until the early morning once the next crew comes in to take over the shift. Family means everything to these firefighters, so having ways for them to spend time with their families is critical for both the moral and mental health of your firefighters. 

Like many other careers, firefighters are required to make sacrifices and take some time from their family life for work and maintain their skills. Fortunately, there are ways to allow firefighters to spend time with their families, even while they work at a firehouse. Family activities that permit firefighters to spend time with their families will offer the chance to show off what they have to do while on the job. 

These family activities are especially great for younger family members who may not understand the importance of firefighting. Showing them what a firefighter does daily will help them understand why their parents or guardians are spending so much time at the firehouse instead of home. It can also be used as a moment to teach family members about fire safety, all while having a fun family moment. 

Furthermore, this allows everyone on the fire team to get to know each other’s families. That can lead to new friendships and reliance on one another during turbulent times. Plus, you can have excuses to spend more time with not only your family but team off duty, now that they have all met each other. 

For this article, we shall go over several family activities that you can do at the fire station.

Activities at the Fire Station

Family time is important and having firefighters spend some quality time with them is vital for their mental health and morale. However, what can firefighters do with their family members when they visit the fire station?

Sitting around and catching up with one another is all good, but what if you have younger children around? They are going to start looking around looking for some entertainment. This is a great chance to show them around the fire station and show off what you do while on duty. All of these activities will not only be fun for the kids but adults as well.

Fire Station Tour

There is a good chance that most of the family has never been inside a fire station before. Or at least seen most of it anyway. You have the perfect opportunity to show them around the fire station and everything that is held inside of it. From the fire trucks to the ambulances, the various equipment used to combat the fire, and so much more. During the tour, you can inject some information about each piece of equipment shown and how it is used by the firefighters. 

These tours are especially exciting for younger members of the family since they get a better idea of what firefighters do and get to even interact with some of the staff around the fire station. For example, you can have them check out the fire truck and let them climb on the front seats to play around with the wheel and even turn on the siren. All of this should be done under the supervision of course. 

Doing this will offer your firefighters the opportunity to bond with their families more. Furthermore, it also allows the family members to understand the reason why they spend so much time away from the family. It’s an excellent opportunity for older members of the family to understand the amount of work a firefighter does to remain in shape and prepared to save the lives of others. 

Wash the Vehicle

Another activity that allows the family to spend together while getting some work done around the fire station. The vehicles around the fire station need to be cleaned, especially when they have gone out in the field during a fire or incident. The grime that covers the vehicles will not inspire any of the civilians if they see how dirty the fire truck or ambulances are. 

You can consider this activity a type of chore that is turned into a family activity type of situation that allows you to clean up and have a good time with the family. The kids will enjoy cleaning the fire truck, knowing that they are doing something helpful, but also being allowed to touch the various things on the fire truck. However, there are other vehicles they can also wash. So if you have younger family members visiting and are worried about them accidentally damaging equipment, consider using those instead. 

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Start a game of “Stop,Drop and Roll.” A game like this is really fun for kids and is also a crucial lesson that can become invaluable in the future. You can also turn it into a game of “Stay Low and Go.” One of the adult family members can press an alarm (using anything that rings a sound), and then kids practice these skills as quickly as possible. Make sure to explain when they need to “stay low and go” and when is the appropriate time to “stop, drop and roll.”  The kids should also be encouraged to cover their faces when performing a roll. 

Furthermore, it is also vital to teach them about “cool and call ” after they have stopped, dropped, and rolled. They need to cool the burning area ( such as clothing) with water and call for assistance from an adult. 

Fire drills

Consider planning a fire safety evacuation drill. It’s a great way to introduce fire safety to the younger members of the family and allows for some fun time for everyone involved. Assign one of the children to hold a bell or alarm and let them decide on the time anytime throughout the day to ring it and shout “Fire!” and for the other kids to evacuate. 

The firefighters and their families can also create some unexpected obstacles, such as taping up an imaginary fire that means the kids cannot leave the building from that direction. An activity like this is wonderful for everyone to be a part of since it allows you to teach the younger members what to do in case of an actual fire outbreak.

Let them wear the gear

One of the excellent things about being a firefighter is the gear they have to wear when they go out to deal with a fire outbreak. The helmets and firefighter uniforms are all iconic and allow people to know who they are when they appear on the scene. Have the family try out the coats and helmets so they can see what firefighters have to wear and take some pictures while you are at it. These pictures will make for a great memory during the coming future and can be looked back at as a great time spent together. 

Eat together

Food is something that can bring everyone together no matter who they may be. Everyone enjoys a good meal, especially when that meal is shared with some of the most cherished people around. Firefighters may not have enough time to eat with their family all of the time, so this is an excellent opportunity to have everyone eat a nice meal together. Sure other firefighters and their families will be there as well. However, keep in mind that everyone in the fire station is one big happy family. 

There are several ways you can go about having these meals. First of all, you could consider cooking the meal together using the kitchen area. Barbecues are also another option, and having some tasty meat grilling outside along with nice weather in the background can be appealing to enjoy a meal. Not only that, but you can turn it into a safe lesson for your family on how to appropriately handle the grill. 

Of course, this might not be easy to do since some stations tend to be really busy with emergency calls. If that is the case, it’s better to bring food or have someone who is not a firefighter in charge of the cooking instead. Maybe grandma decided to come along, and she could whip up some of her famous dishes! 

Pajama party

Unfortunately, a good percentage of firefighters tend to live far away from their fire station. That can cause attempts at coordinating schedules to be challenging with school and other family member’s work. That is especially true when you have a house filled with children that need to be looked after. However, there are ways to get around this, consider having a sleepover at the fire station when either parent cannot remain home. 

Once you have picked up the children from school, fed them, and put them in their PJs, drive to see your fellow firefighters. Hopefully, they have managed to fall asleep while on the way home, so you can tuck them into bed with no hassle at all. 

Fire extinguisher

Most people are unaware of how to use a fire extinguisher, which could be a problem if a fire were to start. Teaching your family members how to use one could be an excellent activity for everyone involved. Not only do they learn how to properly use a fire extinguisher, but they also have some fun while doing so. 

You can set up an area where they can spray the extinguisher so they get a feel for how it works when the time comes, showing them the proper steps of unlocking it and how to react when a fire does occur. It is something everyone in the family should know in case of a future outbreak. 

Participate in a community event

While this may seem like obvious advice, if you are not planning these ahead of time, there is a chance of forgetting. Springing up an event out of nowhere could cause issues for everyone’s schedule, especially if they already had plans for a specific day. Going to events with your fellow firefighters and family is tons of fun, but it can become busy as well. 

Being a part of a community event will permit firefighters to spend some time with their families and offer them a chance to get closer to the rest of the community. These events can be anything from charity events to parades. It all comes down to what everyone agrees upon and if the calendar allows for participation in these events. allow 

Since these are community events, most family members are expected to join and help out during these events. That opens up time for both firefighters and family to spend time together while doing something good for the community. 

Board games

Board games are always an excellent way for everyone to have fun with each other. It makes for a great way to bond with one another, and it’s something to do between all the chit-chat. Not only will you be able to keep the younger members entertained, but you can also continue having a conversation with the other adults. You can also have some card games such as Uno or a regular deck of cards to start a round of go fish. Either way, everyone will be able to spend time with each other and pass the time doing an activity. 

Conclusion

Family is significant for any firefighter out there, and spending a long time away from them can cause issues for them. Allowing these family events to happen and allowing them to do some activities with them will allow them to remain close to their family. Not only will they be able to share a part of something they are a part of, but their family will get a better understanding of what their firefighter does when at the fire station.