The Westmont Fire Department celebrated its 100th anniversary at the start of fire prevention week in October with an Open House.

“We invited vendors and the general public to come and see what the fire department does every day,” explained Westmont Fire Chief Steven W. Riley.

The 416th Theater Engineer Command (TEC) Commanding General Maj. Gen. Matthew V. Baker and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Boyd joined Soldiers and community members at the event. An up armored humvee from the Parkhurst Army Reserve Center provided an opportunity for children and adults to get inside a military vehicle.

There were a variety of demonstrations including a firefighter rappelling 100 feet to the ground from an extended aerial ladder and a vehicle extrication demonstration carried out by two Westmont Firefighters.

The safety message was clear: Everyone should wear their seatbelt when traveling in a vehicle. “It’s pretty common with the bad crashes we respond to, the driver was not wearing a seatbelt,” explained firefighter Austin Plumley. “We remind everyone to wear your seatbelt and slow down.”
In addition, children met Sparky the Fire dog and got to play in a jump house.

“I liked the baby trampoline the best,” said 5-year-old Allison Morgan while her friend, 6-year-old Jase Zimmermann said he enjoyed watching the firefighters. “I liked seeing the firefighters take the roof off the car,” he said.

As part of fire prevention week, the Westmont Fire Department reminded residents to check smoke detectors and make sure you “hear the beep where you sleep” and update to the 10 year smoke alarm.