At 1800 hours, 22 Kentland Volunteers took to the local streets for the National Night Out against crime. Engine 331, Engine 332, Mini-Pumper 33, Chief 33, Chief 33A and various administrative staff went to local gatherings to give support to the community we serve. Half of the crew went to the Columbia Park/Kentland Recreational Center at 2411 Pinebrook Avenue and the other half went to the City of Glenarden Municipal Center. Volunteers handed out fire/life safety literature, gave numerous children fire apparatus tours and spoke with community leaders. Food was also made available at both sites for the attendees. Members of the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department were at these locations until the events ended at 2100 hours. This is the third year our department has had the pleasure of attending.

Tower Ladder 33 was on hand at the Kenmore Middle School to assist the NavSea Patriot Group’s Science Camp. With funding from the United States Navy, a group of accomplished Rocket Scientists work hand and hand with inner city schools and students with a desire to learn. The students were tasked with creating a protective housing to protect an egg dropped from increasing heights of 20, 40 and 60 feet. This is where the Volunteers from Kentland come in. Utilizing the Tower Ladder, 5 groups of students all tested their inventive ideas from various heights. The ideas ranged from using paper-towels as parachutes to eggs wrapped in bubble wrap. Only one group survived all the tested heights and the Volunteers obliged one more request, taking the winning project to the maximum height of 75 feet, which the egg also survived. After 3 hours and many broken eggs, a winner was crowned and the tower returned home.

The Volunteers from Kentland got to take part in an annual career day event at Kenmore Middle School. Kentland members spoke with students about the many duties of a Volunteer from cleaning and training to EMS and Fire Calls. Students got a demonstration on personal protective gear and the many tools on Tower Ladder 33. Many students commented on how the presentation was their favorite of the day.