On Saturday, the Colton Fire Department (CFD) Honor Guard and Explorer Post 211 came together to host the CFD open house and pancake breakfast fundraising event. Battalion Chief Colin Cendejas said the event looked to break last year’s mark of 225 attendees.
Past and present firefighters, their families, friends, and neighbors took up all the parking spaces of the fire house on E Street and for good reason. All were treated to a home cooked pancake breakfast from the firefighters, served with sausage, bacon, eggs and your choice of coffee or orange juice.
“It’s a fundraiser we use for our honor guard and our fire posts,” Cendejas said. “We got a lot of support from this community and I think that’s one of the best things working for a small city like Colton.”
Attendees could also enter into a raffle for a Starbucks gift basket and other prizes whilst filling up on breakfast essentials. While the aroma of eggs, sausage, and bacon filled the fire apparatus, guests could ask for a tour of the fire house and grounds.
Captain David Santos was one of the tour guides, starting out in the fire apparatus, also known as the garage, before moving into the fire house. The station is a one story, quaint house where the firefighters stay. The firefighters have their own room as well as access to a kitchen in one area before stepping outside into another storage space.
Tour guests were shown the Baver compressors, machines that firefighters use to fill air tanks, and their Extractor washer, a special washing machine designed to handle soot and harmful debris on their uniforms.
At 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m., the station held an auto extrication demonstration that showed attendees what firefighters do when having to get to someone stuck in a vehicle in an accident.
Safety instructor David Silva lead the demonstration by breaking down the step-by-step process firefighters go through in these situations.
“We use an acronym called SHADE,” Silva said.
Silva broke down the acronym, which begins with S which stands for size up. After identifying the situation, they identify any hazards (H). Next they work on A which stands for assessing the persons and accessing anyone trapped inside the vehicle. D stands for disentanglement as the firefighters work to untangle the vehicles trapped, and lastly E stands for extrication.
Silva stood next to the two donated junk cars and stated that accidents can be caused in many different fashions. In this instance, the accident was caused by someone texting and driving.
“My mom always does that!” shouted one of the kids in the audience.
The donated Corolla was turned into a convertible by the end of the showcase thanks to the jaws of life. The audience watched in awe as the grips squeezed the framework and doors right of the cars hinges.
“You can easily travel on the freeway, over the speed limit and not realize it. If everyone slows down and doesn’t have so many distractions in the vehicle, it’d be a safe bet,” Silva said.
According to Cendejas, the Colton FD Honor Guard and Explorer Post 211 raised over $500 at the event with support from all involved.
Cendejas explained the bond within the fire department is just like a family. His ‘home-away-from-home’ as he puts it. And coupled with the support from the community, the fire department is able to thrive and keep serving their communities.
“The community really loves their fire department, and we notice it when we go out to different events,” Cendejas said. “People are always coming up to us at events, shake our hands, say ‘thank you.’ That means a lot to us, that little bit of support there.”
For more updates on Colton FD, visit their website at https://www.coltonfire.com or like their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ColtonFire.