Villa Park stresses smoke detectors at open house

Villa Park fire Lt. Robert Olmstead said it amazes him how many people continue to live without smoke detectors in their homes.

“It's such a simple thing, but it can improve your chances of surviving a fire by about 50 percent, he said.

The Villa Park Fire Department on Saturday made smoke detectors the centerpiece of its annual open house at station #3 on Ardmore Avenue.

The theme of the family-oriented event was “Smoke Detectors: A Sound You Can Live With. Children and parents got a chance to tour a smoke house and hear smoke detectors go off. Kids learned about detectors during a puppet show starring Cookie Monster and Elmo. And the department raffled off smoke detectors throughout the afternoon.

Olmstead said the department tries throughout the year to provide detectors to those who can't afford them.

“They're a key part of fire safety, and we don't want people thinking they have to go without, he said.

The open house, which came at the end of Fire Prevention Week, also gave little ones a chance to sit on a fire truck, use a real fire hose and play games. At the end of the day, firefighters enacted a live burn demonstration.

Cyndy McNamara of Lombard brought her 3-year-old son, Nathan, to the open house.

“He loves trucks, especially fire trucks, she said. “He probably won't pick up on the fire-safety part of it until he's a little older, but why not start as early as you can?