The new inflatable playhouse at Camp Humphreys has walls with fire safety tips and will help teach kids about escaping in a fire. (Courtesy of the U.S. Army)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — It weighs about half a ton and takes 10 people to lift it, but the Camp Humphreys fire chief says the brightly colored new inflatable fire safety house is such a hit with kids he plans to set it up at every good chance.
The 1,000-pound rubber firehouse arrived in March. When it’s inflated with electric blowers, its walls display short fire safety tips for kids and adults alike.
"You know, it’s a huge attention-getter," said Anthony J. Marra, U.S. Army Garrison-Humphreys’ chief of fire and emergency services. "It really draws the kids."
It measures about 20 feet by 20 feet, he said, and has yellow walls, a green roof and blue trim at the door and windows. Up against one side is a red fire truck with a slide leading from a house window.
And younger kids love bouncing around inside. The outside is also decorated with bright flowers, a green turtle with a firefighter’s helmet, a red fire alarm with 911 above it, and the image of a smiling firefighter in blue work clothes and a red cap.
On the house front is one of the most basic safety tips of all: "Call 911 only in an emergency. It’s important to know your address."
Inside walls carry other tips, said Marra: Don’t leave candles or cooking fires unattended. Don’t burn candles near curtains. Don’t douse a cooking fire with water.
And it teaches kids how to escape a burning building, Marra said.
"We explain: Always have two ways out, either a window or a door, and if you’re on the second floor you’ve gotta have a safe way to get down, either a slide or a ladder."
Inside, running up one wall to the window is a nylon ladder. Kids climb it, go through the window and slide 10 feet down a chute to the fire truck.
He plans to set it up at Friday’s school bazaar at the Humphreys American School and for the post’s July 4 weekend observance.
It’s proving a big help in a current Army push to emphasize fire safety at military communities, Marra said.
"We’re getting our fire safety campaign message out to our youth," he said. "And this fire safety bounce device is helping immensely."
