MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP (WLNS) – Oct. 9-15 is Fire Prevention Week and to kick it off, the Meridian Township Fire Department hosted an open house event that has been on hiatus for 2 years.
“It’s a way for us to show the community what we can do,” Meridian Township Fire’s Marshal Tavis Millerov said.
Millerov said the goal of this event was to help bring people together and educate others on how to be safe when it comes to fire, he says especially because, in his line of work, he has seen how fast things can go wrong.
“A lot of times people say that we’re in the worst day business. You see us on the worst day of your life. This is a way for us to see a see us not on the worst day of your life,” Millerov said.
Although the firefighters were working the event, they were still on duty.
“Fires can happen anytime day and night,” Millerov added.
And today was not an exception according to the fire marshal.
“We caught a fire 20 minutes before this open house opened, which left only two of us here to work which got, just got a little dicey at first, but thankfully it was a small fire,” Millerov said.
He explained that the event today served multiple purposes like educating the community on fire safety, showing off their equipment, and bringing in new recruits.
“I want to be a fire firefighter,” said four-year-old Alex Brown.
But they couldn’t get all of the recruits interested in changing career paths.
“When I grow up I want to be Elsa,” four-year-old Derin Yucesoy, who visited the fire department, said.
For Fire Safety Prevention Week, Millerov said he hopes people remember two things: checking their smoke alarms once a month and knowing when to get out of the house when there’s a fire.
“If you see a fire and you think I can take care of this, okay, then go ahead and do so. But if you see a fire that stops you dead in your tracks, or if you’re scared of it, get out. Just get out. Call 911, let us come in and deal with it,” Millerov stated.
