Christmas in July (provided by www.positivelymichigan.net)

On Wednesday, July 29, Christmas came a little early this year, at least at the DeVos Children’s Hospital, when Santa and a large group of helpers swooped in with games, prizes, and lots of goodies.

Santa’s “helpers” consisted of Sparta Fire Chief Jerry Bolen, Lieutenants Steve Drent and Mary-Ann Meyer, Kent City Fire Chief Mike Rexford; helpers and Ice Cream from the Sparta Tasty Treat; volunteers from the Speedway Gas Station at Jupiter and Plainfield; Stephanie Stanton, Amy Drent, and her great family of volunteers, and oh yeah, Santa Claus!

Several months ago it was discovered that the hospital has several indoor “picnics” during the year with differing themes. The local fire departments wanted to do something for the young patients and when the hospital found out that the Sparta and Kent City Fire Departments had a direct line to Santa himself, they suggested a “Christmas in July” picnic. After involving Amy and Stephanie, two ladies with organizational skills that are second next to none, it was pretty much a done deal.

It was a great success and the departments were able to leave the hospital with left over prizes such as note books, coloring books, colored pencils, crayons, and more that they could give out to future child patients.

Kids:

1. Never put anything into an electrical outlet.
2. Never take apart or try to fix electrical things.
3. Don’t have anything that has a power cord near water (bathtub, sink, puddle).
4. Always let an adult plug and unplug electrical things, (Computer, TV, games).
5. Always tell a adult about a appliance that is smoking, smells funny or sparking.

When you are outside:

1. Never climb a power pole.
2. Never fly a kite near power lines.
3. After a thunder storm, stay out of puddles.  There might be a fallen power line in it.

Parents:

1. Do not overload electrical outlets.
2. Make sure electrical cords are in good working condition.
3. Never “fix” a frayed power cord.  Throw it away.
4. Never splice together power cords to make a longer one.
5. Never run a power cord under a rug to “hide” it.
6. Have safety caps inserted in outlets when small children are around.
7. Always have a working fire extinguisher in the house.  Know how to use it.

Electrical fires kill 500 people a year.  By taking precautions and educating our children in fire safety, we can all make our homes safer.

Lt. Mary-Ann Meyer

Sparta Fire Department

mary-annmeyer@charter.net

chiefbolen@aol.com