On Wednesday, August 29th, Station 19 (Mt.Tabor) took the fire engine and rescue to Marquis Care at Mt.Tabor. Their assignment was to educate children about personal safety, the fire service and Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R). The children were able to go into the fire engine, as well as look at all the tools that get used to help the public in a variety of emergencies. The Station 19 crew was also able to answer many questions and pass on valuable safety tips dealing with fire safety and proper usages of 9-1-1.
After the children were done looking at the fire engine, rescue, and police car, they went inside to move through a number of stations designed with the purpose of educating them on personal safety. The children learned the importance of having an identification card and were each issued one.There were stations about: bicycle safety, poisons in the home, outdoor water safety, and proper hand washing. Once all of the stations were checked off, the kids got to have some fun in the bouncy house and then enjoy some barbecued burgers and hot dogs for lunch.
The surprise of the day came when the members of Station 19 got to meet Pat Crabtree, the widow of retired Portland Firefighter Bill Johnston. Bill was hired to PF&R in 1951 and worked out of Station 19 for the next 20 years, until he retired in 1971. It was a pleasure for the firefighters to talk with Bill’s family and hear some stories from the glory days of Station 19. It was the perfect way to cap off a day working with children eager to learn and doing positive work in the community.
