Photos/Story by SHARON WILLIS

Fire departments around the nation recently celebrated National Fire Prevention Week. In Dixon, Calif., a city of 16,000 residents located 12 miles south of Sacramento, the 60-plus member department participated in the weeklong observance with a variety of activities aimed at increasing awareness of fire hazards, prevention and safety.

Engineer James Franceschi, who coordinated this year's program for the Dixon Fire Department, said they worked with six local elementary schools and day care centers to host assemblies on fire safety. Over 1,200 students attended the assemblies held throughout the week. Banners and fliers were hung on school campuses and at local businesses announcing Fire Prevention Week.

Members of the department also worked in conjunction with the local Ace Hardware store to offer promotional materials to store customers, including fire safety messages, stickers and safety lights.

The department teamed with the local newspapers and radio stations to publicize the week's activities. One newspaper, the Dixon Tribune, published a special Prevention Week supplement that described a day in the life of a firefighter, offered fire safety and prevention tips, and featured photographs of personnel on the job, at fire and rescue scenes, in training, and involved in community relations efforts.

On Oct. 12, Fire Prevention Day, the Dixon Fire Station opened its doors to the public. Franceschi said they began planning for the event in July, with a focus on the children. "We tried to make it different this year," Franceschi said. "We wanted the kids to be able to try on the turnouts, have their pictures taken in the gear, handle the hose, and experience the smoke."

In fact, a "smoke tunnel" was constructed, pumping in what Franceschi described as "Halloween fog" as a substitute for the real thing. Children were instructed to crawl through the tunnel, staying low and underneath the smoke as they would in an actual fire.

In addition to the department's 105 ft. aerial ladder truck, 55 ft. Quint, three engines, two water tenders, rescue squad and three command vehicles, visitors to the station also got to tour two air ambulances flown in for the day.

The University of California, Davis, Medical Center's Life Flight helicopter was demonstrated by Jeff Blankenship, a former military medevac pilot with over 20 years' flying experience. The second, REACH air ambulance, was also on display, with a full crew of nurses and paramedics on hand to explain their mission. Both helicopters serve the Dixon area.

Dixon's police department and the Solano EMS Medic ambulance participated in the event as well. Sgt. John Roulea, along with his K-9 partner, Art, a 70-lb. German shepherd, described their duties as the city's bomb detection team. The ambulance company, which works in conjunction with the Dixon Fire Department on emergency calls, displayed their ambulance, allowing children and their parents to climb inside and lie down on a gurney.

Joy Weaver, the department's code compliance officer, worked with Franceschi to build a mini firehouse and other scenes as backdrops for photographs. Weaver took free Polaroid pictures of children in turnout gear or with their faces showing through cut out holes in painted scenes.

The local Masonic lodge offered free digital fingerprinting and identification services, and a child car safety seat demonstration was provided. Dinger, the mascot for the Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball team, was on hand to help with the event.

Children were also given the opportunity to experience what it was like to handle the hose. A reel line was connected so kids could operate the nozzle, spraying water into a nearby drain.

The Dixon Fire Department also planned a coloring contest in conjunction with the newspaper. Franceschi said members of the Dixon City Council will serve as judges for the contest, which is scheduled to end Oct. 22. Winners will be selected from two age groups, three- to five-year olds, and six- to eight-year olds, and will be picked up at their homes in the department's new aerial ladder truck. They will be taken to the fire station for a dinner cooked for them and their immediate family members by the Dixon firefighters in November.

Franceschi estimated that over 250 people attended this year's Fire Prevention Day open house, with 20 firefighters volunteering their time during the day and throughout the week's activities.