Your smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night, and you can barely see through the thick cloud of smoke.
Your adrenaline rushes as you try to come up with a plan for escape.
Quickly, you drop to the floor and crawl to the window for fresh air and safety.
Unfortunately, many house fires don’t end so well.
That’s why the Oxford Firefighters Association is hoping to purchase a Fire Safety House, or Smoke House, to better educate the community on how to properly escape these emergency situations.
The fire houses are designed to look like a real house inside and simulate real life emergencies, like the situation mentioned above.
Jeff Siarto, President of the Oxford Firefighters Association said kids and adults gather in the kitchen to watch a video on fire safety.
The room then fills with a non-toxic smoke, and the kids are told to crawl on the floor and follow the escape plan. There’s even a program where those inside the fire house can experience what to do during severe weather, like a tornado.
?(Kids) can actually watch a simulated newscast…the cable goes out, then the electricity goes out,? Siarto said. ‘It’s a really neat tool.?
The fire houses can range anywhere from $38,000-45,000, according to Siarto, and it would be used to educate students at schools and even for their own open houses.
Currently, the department uses Oakland Township’s fire house for their open houses.
Because the fire houses are not a cheap expenditure, Siarto said the association will be holding numerous fundraisers for the next few years to help pay the cost.
On Sunday, August 13, the association and Oxford Parks and Rec are throwing a pig roast, hosted at Kalloway’s Restaurant & Pub, to help raise money to purchase the portable house, and everyone’s invited.
The roast runs from 1-6 p.m., and visitors can enjoy a raffle, with prizes like 18 holes of golf, free bowling at Collier Lanes, and gift certificates to Red Knapps Restaurant and Al’s AutoWash.
A live DJ will be on hand to spin tunes for the older crowd, while the little ones can enjoy a bounce-house and check out the department’s various fire trucks.
Siarto said it’s important to purchase the Fire Safety House for the safety of the community.
‘What the fire department and the association wants to do is get these things that are necessary to train and educate people in the community,? he said.
Tickets for the pig roast are $20 for ages 13 and up, $10 for ages 7-12 and $5 for ages 3-6.