Perry Fire debuts inflatable training house

PERRY, Ga. — Perry Fire and Emergency Services showcased their new inflatable training house at the Health and Community Housing Fair Saturday, according to Fire Chief Lee Parker.

“It made sense because we were looking for a facility, if you will, to teach kids or even adults about fire safety,” Parker said. “The inflatable gave us the ability to take it to multiple locations, and it [offered] a quick setup, quick teardown and then we could move along and go to the next location.”

Setting up the new training tool is a breeze, he added.

“Setup is a matter of minutes,” he said. “[You] just open it up, put some air in it like a bounce house — but it doesn’t have a bouncy floor. Teardown is a little bit longer because you have to let it deflate, and then sit on it and push the air out.”

The inflatable also offers training features within the layout’s three individual rooms.

“When you go in, you have a kitchen area where you’re going to learn about kitchen safety,” Parker said. “It shows a stove and talks about what to do for safety in the kitchen.

“Then you go in kind of a living room area that has a picture of a fireplace in it, talks about candle safety and those kind of things. And then you get into a kind of bedroom area, as well — that’s the last area — and then you make your way out into the safe area outside the home.”

Parker said his staff informed him that the inflatable provided a “very productive” experience for the participants at this past weekend’s Health and Community Housing Fair.

He said that while he could not guarantee it, the $8,500 inflatable could make an appearance at future events in the city, including the famed Food Truck Friday.

“If they have the little Kids’ Zone area [there], we may set it up so we can teach some fire safety at that time, as well,” Parker said.

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