Firefighters teach fire home safety plans - KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 47) -- Firefighters at the 41st Street station in Rochester are encouraging people to setup a fire safety plan.

But when you're teaching kids, it's best to have a little fun too, and the station had a variety of activities set up.

The kids got to try on some of the fire gear, sit in the fire trucks and even take some target practice with a real fire hose.

The best part of 5-year-old William Henning's yearly trip to the 41st Street fire station open house is a little move called the shield, a trick he can do with a fire hose.

And for the firefighter in training, the shield proved pretty effective when it came to battling the flames.

Though he was only shooting target practice with a dummy fire, Henning says the shield simply works.

Events like these are fun for William and the other kids. But for parents, they provide a valuable hands on learning tool.

Henning's father says events like these help teach his kids about how to respond if they ever face a fire in the family home.

For the firefighters, education is the core of this event. After a fire Monday night in northwest Rochester that caused an estimated $50,000 in damage, firefighter Brett Knapp wants to remind Rochester residents to make sure they have a fire plan that includes two ways out of every room in the house. And once you get out -- stay out.

Rochester firefighter Brett Knapp says that many people leave their homes in a fire but then go back inside to rescue pets or belongings.

"That's where a lot of people get into trouble," Knapp said.

While William's dad might be doing the hard work and building the family fire plan, William is definitely taking away a few valuable lessons.

"I know how to put out a fire," William says.