Swarms of children transformed the Central Fire Station on Lexington Street into their own personal playground yesterday.
During the early afternoon, an open house complete with pizza, soda and games marked the conclusion of a weeklong fire prevention program taught in Waltham middle schools.
Clad in red plastic helmets, the youth climbed ladders and ogled at sliding down fire poles and explaining the mechanics of ladder trucks to their eager minds.
"I can't believe how smart they are," said Chuck Vinciulla, a firefighter stationed at the Moody Street Fire Station. "They seem to really pick up on everything."
Vinciulla said he's helped teach the fire prevention program for the past five years.
"Kindergarten to third grade is generally the age group that we deal with," he said. "They are very responsive. Every year we get new questions. They are very aware and it's always a challenge to answer the new questions."
For Melissa Lelievre, a firefighter stationed at Central Station, she said the most rewarding aspect about teaching the children is seeing them remember fire safety lessons in later grades.
"When we talk to second- and third-graders, it's good to see what they remember from the year before," she said. "Hopefully in the event of an emergency, they would remember this stuff."
For Lt. Richard Grant, the purpose of the open house was more to celebrate the end of fire prevention week and to leave a lasting impression on local youth.
"We want them to see what life is like in a fire station and to let them know we are their friends," he said. "Plan your escape is this year's theme."
Mike Quinn Jr., a firefighter stationed at Central Station, stressed the importance of having children know their address and location in case of an emergency.
"We teach the kids that you do fire drills at school, you should really do a fire drill with your family," he said. "A lot of people don't realize 911 calls with cell phones do not go to the fire station, it goes to the state police. The kids really have to know where they are, their names and addresses."
For the children, the highlight of yesterday afternoon was Patches, a robotic remote control dog that speaks, squirts water and drives a fire truck. Patches accompanies firefighters when they speak at schools.
"I came down here to see the fire trucks and I came down here to see Patches," said Antonio Hernandez, 9, of Waltham. "They came to my school and brought him and they talked about him."
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com.
