FRUITLAND PARK — Four-year-old Ethan Campbell of Leesburg enjoyed the fire engines, helicopter and special demonstrations at the third annual Fruitland Park Fire Rescue Department Open House on Saturday.
But Ethan’s eyes really lit up when he came face to face with Sparky the Fire Dog.
“He’s had fun the whole time but I think Sparky’s his favorite,” said Ethan’s aunt, Suzanne Kling of Fruitland Park.
Ethan and Suzanne were among the more than 300 people who attended the event, which Chief David Borst said is an outreach effort by the department.
“We’ve made a lot of changes over the last three years and one of our goals has been to become more community-friendly,” Borst said. “We want to let people see what we are doing, and how their tax money is being used.”
Many of displays and demonstrations were geared towards children, who comprised more than half of those in attendance.
“I think sometimes there’s a bit of a fear factor with kids when it comes to firefighters,” Borst said. “A lot of times, their first experience with a firefighter is in an emergency situation with us under all of our equipment. An event like today’s lets them see the people under the equipment and hopefully alleviates some of that fear.”
Attendees got to tour the station and get an up-close view of the fire engines and other apparatus, including a ShansCair helicopter. Diabetes and blood pressure testing also was offered.