Fun and Education at the Excelsior Fire District Open House

Flashing lights marked the approach to the Open House on Thursday, Oct. 13, as area residents turned out for food, to learn about fire safety and, of course, take a ride in a fire truck.

“We have a lot of pride in our open house,” said Scott Gerber, Excelsior Fire Disctrict Fire Chief. “Each of our firefighters are here helping out.”

South Lake Minnetoka Police were also at the event, showing off large special equipment such as the airboat and all-terrain utility vehicle.

Kids enjoyed sitting high in the airboat under the watchful eye of police officer Rick Rehmand. He described the purpose of the airboat as for rescue and recovery on the lake when the ice is not safe for snowmobiles and a boat cannot be used. The airboat is often used, he said, to help snowmobilers who have driven onto the lake in unsafe conditions.

The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department bought the fully-equipped all terrain-utility vehicle through private donations, according to David Hohertz, Community Service Supervisor at the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department. The vehicle can get through areas, such as thick crowds during special events, parks, and trails, that a squad car cannot patrol.

Other participants at the event included Ridgeview Medical Center, Hennepin Regional Poison Center and CenterPoint Energy.

But the focus on the event was really about teaching kids and adults about “fire safety, fire prevention, and fire suppression,” explained Chief Gerber.

The night's grand finale showcased the live burning of two identical rooms that represented rooms in a house. One room had sprinklers and the other room did not have sprinklers. Setting fire to the rooms was to show the damage to the room with sprinklers as less than the damage to the room without sprinklers.

The sprinklers failed to turn on, however, and fire engulfed both rooms. After some investigation Kellie Murphy-Ringate, Excelsior Fire District Fire Inspector, explained what had happened. When the two rooms were moved side by side, the water line to the sprinklers became pinched so that the water could not flow through the tube.

Though the demonstration did not work out as planned, Murphy-Ringate’s message to the audience still rang true.

“The number one cause of fire in America is unattended cooking,” she said through a microphone. “So please don’t walk away from that pan on the stove.”

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