Fire Trucks!

My cousin Bo is a Baltimore City firefighter. On Friday we took Peyton to his firehouse to check out the firetrucks. Peyton loves when we see a firetruck or an ambulance when we're out driving, so we thought he would love to see them up close. And boy, were we right. As soon as we got to the firehouse and walked inside, Peyton yelled "Firetrucks!" and took off running toward them.

First, Bo let him "drive" the firetruck. Look how excited he is.

Then Bo showed Peyton how to turn on the lights and sirens and how to honk the horn. Peyton liked to honk the horn, but it would scare him so much each time he did it. It was so funny to watch him literally jump out of the seat each time the horn would blare, even though he was the one controlling it.

Peyton learned how the firemen handle the hose. Even though there was no water, Peyton still said that it was heavy.

Bo let Peyton put on his helmet. It was so heavy that Bo had to hold it so that Peyton wouldn't fall over.

Next, Bo showed Peyton the axe. Peyton had no idea what it was, so he wasn't too impressed. I think it is funny that the axe is bigger than Peyton!

We checked out the ladder truck next. Peyton and my little cousin Dougie took a turn driving the back portion of the truck. I learned that the person who steers the back of the truck is called the tillerman.

There was another fire engine in the house that day. Peyton had fun in this truck just turning on the lights because he could see them reflecting on the other truck which was parked in front of this one. He was able to turn them on all by himself once Bo showed him where the button was.

Bo put all of his gear on for Peyton. He said that with the oxygen tanks included, all of the gear weighs 55 pounds. That's about two Peyton's! Those guys and girls have to be in really good shape. Peyton wasn't afraid of Bo in his gear even when he was wearing the mask.

Peyton took a turn wearing the mask too.

Then Bo let Peyton step into his boots and pants. The boots were almost as tall as Peyton. Once he was in the boots, he couldn't stand up too well and kept falling over to one side. He looked like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz before he was all oiled up. Too funny!

Dougie took a turn wearing the mask too.

Just as we were getting ready to leave the firehouse, they got a call. It was so exciting (for me, at least!) to see the firefighters rush out and get into their gear and drive away. I must say that they had a really quick response time.

Peyton loved checking out the firetrucks. Thanks Bo!!