Firing up young imaginations

Merryhill students get a lesson in safety

When the Las Vegas firefighters of Engine 7, stationed near Summerlin Hospital, needed help handling their fire hoses they knew just where to turn -- the students of Merryhill, Summerlin Campus, 2150 Snow Trail. The unit enlisted about a dozen children to help put out a shocking number of fires.

OK, so the fires were all imaginary ones, but none of the Merryhill elite shirked their duty.

As soon as the big red pumper truck pulled into the parking lot, the youngsters got in line and donned red helmets. The hose was snaked out from the truck to the edge of the parking lot.

When it was their turn, each child braced for the sudden pressure and then sprayed the water into the open desert on the east side of their campus.

Scott Phillips, Las Vegas firefighter, helped the children handle the hose but Christopher Biaggi, 7, needed no instruction, he's seen it all before.

"My dad's rich," he said. "He's been a firefighter since he was 20."

Christopher Biaggi said he can tell when his father's been at a fire because his dad comes home smelling of smoke.

Morgan Potter, 9, was there for the fun. He, too, knows a thing or two about the job.

"My dad's a firefighter in L.A. and I got to go in his helicopter," he said. "He fought the (recent) fires in California. I worry about him a lot."

Asked how much firefighters earn, Dylan Hastings, 6, said he knew the answer: $300 a day.

"Right on," said Peggy Munson, one of the firefighters of Engine 7. "I'll take that."

The children didn't have many questions for the crew, but that's not unusual.

"Usually, the kids, they want to tell us things, not ask questions," said George Rauh, fire department engineer. "They'll tell us about the time their mom fell and broke her arm or something like that. You listen and then say, 'OK, any questions?' and they'll speak up again and tell you about their dog or something."

The hose the children handled was putting out 80 pounds of pressure. At a fire, the crew normally handles at least 150 pounds pressure but the trucks are capable of putting out 600 pounds, an amount which would "lift a man off his heels," according to fire Capt. Robert Pittman.

A garden hose usually has 45 or 50 pounds of pressure.

The wind played a part in the visit, shifting the spray toward those awaiting their turn. Some children got paper cups and, amid shrieks of delight, attempted to fill them. Others just stood in the path of the shifting spray and closed their eyes as it sprinkled over them in the near-100 degree heat.


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