Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
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With temperatures soaring past 90 degrees, a group of severely disabled students welcomed the water being pumped at 750 gallons per minute onto their playground Ontario firefighters. On July 13, Ontario Fire Department’s Medic Engine No. 1 and Truck No. 1 from the downtown station visited Lincoln Elementary School as they have for the past 15 years. The firefighters say the event gives them a chance to give back to the community, and the students enjoy it for what it is. Just several minutes after the fire hoses were turned on, kids were dripping wet and the teachers pushing the kids in wheelchairs and strollers abandoned the idea of staying dry.
“We choose this school because of the special needs kids,” explained Fred Nelsen, a captain with the department. “This is my crew’s seventh year out here and the crew really enjoys it. One of the guys was going to take the day off until he found out we were doing this today.”
The firefighters had as much fun as the kids and several of them enjoyed being on the other end of the hose for a change. Capt. Dave Canfield ran around the playground with kids as they were sprayed from a hose connected to a ladder extended 30 feet into the air, and firefighter Guido Natale was all smiles when his comrades unexpectedly turned the hose on him.
“This is my first time here and it’s fun, we’re happy to do it,” said Canfield, who stood dripping wet in his uniform. “This is an opportunity for public education because we get a chance to teach the kids something while we’re here and it’s a lot of fun.”
Eventually a few other firefighters joined Canfield and aided the visually impaired and children that had trouble walking on their own. Karen Russi, a teacher at Lincoln coordinates the event each year and she ran inside the school to grab her camera to capture special moments between the firefighters and students.
“This is the biggest day of the year for them,” Russi said. “These kids are severely handicapped children. We have regular education and special education students here at Lincoln but during the summer it’s mostly the special-ed kids. They range in age from 3 years old to 14 years old. This is really the highlight of the school year for them.”
After the water play, the school treated the firefighters to a luncheon. All involved are already looking forward to next year’s event.