The Bowling Green Fire Division (BGFD) held its annual open house on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Pearl Street Fire Station.

Community members and their families gathered for a fun morning of activities hosted by BGFD, including a breakfast, demonstrations of safety scenarios and the opportunity to get inside a fire truck and use a fire hose. The free and open-to-the-public event is held every year in October during Fire Safety Month, which aims to raise knowledge and awareness for community members on fire safety.

Tony Zmarzly, deputy chief of Bowling Green’s Fire Division, said that he thinks the event is crucial to hold in the community and helps expose what the fire division really does.

“I think it’s very important to get out the message for what we do every day and just give the citizens here a glimpse of the inner workings of the fire division,” said Zmarzly. “There are a lot of things that we do that people don’t even realize that we do. We do fire and EMS, but there’s a whole list of different things. We wear many hats, so it’s great to get the community out here to see what we do every day.”

Zmarzly hopes that those who went to the open house gained valuable information on fire safety and know that the division is here for the community.

“We definitely want to, want them to focus on what they can do to keep their home safe. Fire Safety is a big thing, of course and just to know that the fire division is here for them every day,” said Zmarzly.