Old-fashioned Fire Truck at Vienna, Virginia Firehouse
Since becoming a mom and homeowner, I am awed by the number of uses for baking soda. It’s the miracle of household items.
If you add baking soda to your baby’s bath water, it will cure even the most stubborn of diaper rashes. Cleaning your ceramic cook top? Baking soda and vinegar will cut through all the grease! Your potty-training toddler peed on the carpet? Baking soda absorbs it and gets rid of the smell… So imagine how awe-struck I was to discover this:
Baking soda puts out kitchen fires!
Yes, baking soda also puts out kitchen fires! How about that? We got this handy little tidbit of information during our visit to the Vienna Firehouse Open House last week. Every year the firehouses across Fairfax County open their doors to the community during Fire Prevention Week. It’s a fun and informative day for kids and adults alike.
This year’s theme was Prevent Kitchen Fires, hence the baking soda sticker. I’m giddy-excited to make my own fire extinguisher and slap that sticker on it! Besides that, we got to see the firefighters start a real kitchen grease fire and extinguish it with baking soda!
My two-year-old son was most impressed, though, by the fire engines, including an old-timey one! He climbed all over them, checking out all of the tools. He was most enamored with the giant wrench used to open the water spigot on the side of the truck. The firefighter who showed it to him did not believe me when I warned it was best not to show him how to use it. Moments later, my son had that wrench clamped on correctly and was trying vigorously to get it turned… The firefighters said they would hire him in fourteen years!
Kids’ Stop, Drop, and Roll Activity
Stop, Drop, and Roll!
We enjoyed many other activities around the firehouse, too. My son learned how to stop, drop, and roll on a fun play mat. He jumped in a fire truck shaped moon bounce. He colored a fire truck, and made a cardboard fold-up fire truck. We met firefighters dressed in their gear and learned not to be scared of them. We got to spray the fire hose!
We visited several pretend kitchens and learned safety tips, too! For example, flammable items like dishtowels and potholders should be kept three feet away from the stove. We had to correct that when we got home. And, of course, keep the stovetop clean and free of grease and residue (baking soda and vinegar will help with that!).
It was a fun day at the firehouse. We learned a lot. Hopefully the firefighters won’t be visiting us at home (perhaps to my son’s disappointment), but the day was a good reminder to be prepared for an emergency.
It’s a good time of year to check smoke alarm batteries. Discuss escape routes with children and how to crawl beneath the smoke. Establish a meet-up spot outside and away from the house. And… buy some baking soda to store near your stove. You never know when you might need it!
