Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Jemison Public Library story hour took a field trip to Jemison Fire Station on June 13, drawing quite a crowd from some of Jemison’s littlest ones.

Story hour participants and their parents explored the facility, learning about fireman responsibilities and living accommodations at the station.

“These guys are wonderful,” Jemison librarian Tammie McGriff said of the firemen. “They’ve brought [the class] over to City Hall before, but I think it’s much more effective here.”

Climb-throughs of an ambulance and fire truck ignited big smiles from the children, who gripped their plastic, red fireman hats to their heads and poked at various knobs and buttons of intrigue.

Inside the large garage, Fire Chief J.A. Dennis educated the group about fire safety and the importance of having operable smoke alarms and a family plan of escape in the case of a fire.

“If you can’t get out of your house, I want you to go to a window and stand in that window, OK?” Dennis told the children, explaining that the first thing firemen do in the case of a house fire is to circle the house and look for anyone in a window.

Dennis said the fireman might look scary.

Fireman Thomas Rodgers donned a fire suit with full gear, demonstrating to the children what a fire fighter coming to their rescue might look like.

“See how he looks and sounds? Don’t be scared, this is the same Thomas that was inside, helping us go through the truck,” Dennis said. “Touch his clothes and touch his gear. It’s just really thick, heavy clothes to keep him from the heat. He can talk to you.”

McGriff said the Jemison Fire Station has instructed story hour classes each June since 2013.

Future Jemison story hour excursions are scheduled to include visits to learn about Jemison water works, the new Marion Bank and Trust and more.