Fire companies open their doors
By: Bill Greenwood
South Brunswick’s volunteer fire departments will be opening their doors to the public this weekend as part of Fire Prevention Week, which began Sunday and will end Saturday.
To celebrate, the Monmouth Junction Volunteer Fire Department, the Kingston Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and the Kendall Park Volunteer Fire Company will hold open houses on Saturday and Sunday. Monmouth Junction’s will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kendall Park’s will be held Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., and Kingston’s will be held Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
Monmouth Junction’s open house will feature handouts and T-shirts for kids as well as various displays and programs meant to teach fire safety in the home, said Doug Wolfe, fire service coordinator for Fire District 2.
"We spend a lot of time on fire safety because it’s so easy to lose lives in careless fires," he said.
In addition, the department’s equipment will be on display and Squirt the Robot, a small firetruck that "rides around, talks and dances," will be on hand to entertain and educate children in attendance, Mr. Wolfe said.
The open house at Kendall Park will also feature Squirt the Robot, and children will get a chance to meet Sparky, a firefighting dog mascot, according to Linda Corl of the Kendall Park Ladies Auxiliary.
Children also will be able to take part in the smokehouse demonstration, Ms. Corl said. The smokehouse features rooms made to resemble a kitchen, a living room and other areas, and participants in the demonstration must point out the potential fire hazards in each room before learning how to escape from a burning house.
"It’s very educational that the children really see what to do in a fire," Ms. Corl said.
The company will also hold raffles every half hour to an hour, provide free T-shirts to the first 300 to 400 visitors and serve hot dogs and drinks as refreshments, Ms. Corl said.
Kingston fire coordinator Mike Burzachiello said Kingston’s open house will feature fire prevention demonstrations and a large firetruck slide for kids. In addition, he said the fire safety trailer will be open, where children can learn how a smoke detector works and how to check doors for warmth during a fire and more.
"Fire prevention is something that should be going on all year round," Mr. Burzachiello said, but, he added, devoting even one week to fire prevention can help to increase safety and teach children that firemen are not people they should be scared of.
Monmouth Junction’s open house will be held at its station on Ridge Road. The phone number at the firehouse is (732) 329-2001.
Kendall Park’s open house will be held at its station on New Road. The Phone number at the firehouse is (732) 297-0388.
Kingston’s open house will be held at its station on Heathcote Road. The phone number at the firehouse is (609) 924-1181.

