# Bag of Wonder: The Firefighter > Meet a kind firefighter, put on his gear, ride the fire truck, rescue a kitten and learn stop, drop and roll. A free interactive 3D exhibit for children aged 2 to 6, from Curiosity's Child in Troy, Michigan. - Interactive exhibit: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/firefighter/ - Ages: 2 to 6. The story is pitched at the youngest; the tap cards give older children more to chew on. - Cost: free, with no sign-in, no ads and no tracking. - Works on: phones, tablets and computers, in a web browser. Sound on for the narration. ## What it is Meet a kind firefighter, put on his gear, ride the fire truck, rescue a kitten and learn stop, drop and roll. How to play: press play to hear the story (read aloud in Kelly's voice, with the words on screen). Slide the time slider back and forth to see any part again. Slide "Look closer" to see what is hidden inside. Tap any glowing button for a fact. ## The story 1. Good morning, poppets! This is a fire station. The big red fire truck lives here, ready to help. 2. Meet Firefighter Leo! Firefighters are brave, kind helpers. Their job is to keep people safe. 3. Time to get dressed! First, big boots and fire trousers. Then a thick coat that keeps out the heat, and a strong helmet. 4. On his back goes an air tank, and over his face, a mask, so he can breathe clean air. Under the mask is a kind helper! 5. Ding, ding! The alarm bell rings. The firefighters climb aboard, the lights flash, and off goes the siren. 6. Through the town they go! The flashing lights and the siren tell everyone: a fire truck is coming to help. 7. At the park, a campfire is still burning. Leo holds the hose, and whoosh! Water from the fire hydrant puts the fire out. 8. Meow! A little kitten is stuck up a tree. Up goes the ladder, and Leo climbs up, slowly and carefully, to bring her down, safe and sound. 9. Back at the station, the firefighters wash the truck, so it's clean and ready for next time. 10. Leo has a lesson for you, poppets. If you ever hear a smoke alarm, go outside to your meeting place. Never hide: firefighters are looking for you. 11. And if your clothes ever catch fire: stop, drop and roll! Cover your face with your hands, and roll until the fire is out. 12. Look, poppets: a firefighter's world on one table! The fire truck, Leo in his gear, a fire hydrant and the kitten, safe and sound. ## The parts, and what we tell children These are the tap cards, word for word. - **Fire station**: The fire station is where firefighters work. They eat, sleep and practice there, so they are ready to help, day and night. - **Fire truck**: A fire truck carries the firefighters and everything they need: hoses, ladders, tools and a big tank of water. - **Firefighter**: Firefighters put out fires and help people, and animals too. They are brave, they practice a lot, and they are kind. - **Boots**: Firefighter boots are tall and tough, with strong toes. They keep feet safe and dry. - **Fire trousers**: Fire trousers are made of thick, special cloth that keeps out the heat. They wait by the boots, so a firefighter can step into both at once! - **Coat**: The thick coat keeps out heat and water. Its shiny stripes glow in the light, so everyone can see the firefighter. - **Helmet**: A strong helmet protects the head. Its long brim at the back keeps water off the firefighter's neck. - **Air tank**: The air tank holds clean air to breathe, so a firefighter can go into smoky places to help. - **Mask**: The mask gives clean air from the tank. Inside it is a friendly face, so there's no need to be scared! - **Lights and siren**: Flashing lights and the siren tell everyone a fire truck is coming. Cars move over to let it pass. - **Ladders**: A fire truck carries ladders to reach high places. Firefighters climb carefully, one step at a time. - **Cab**: The firefighters ride in the cab, and everyone wears a seat belt, even firefighters! - **Hose**: A fire hose is long and strong. When the water is turned on, it sprays a long, long way. - **Fire hydrant**: A fire hydrant is joined to big water pipes under the street. Firefighters connect a hose to it to get lots of water. - **Pump**: The pump on the fire truck pushes the water hard through the hose, so it can reach the fire. - **Campfire**: A campfire must always be put out with water before everyone goes home. Fire is for grown-ups to look after. - **Kitten**: This kitten climbed up the tree and couldn't get down. Firefighters help animals, too! - **Alarm bell**: When someone calls 911 for help, an alarm rings at the fire station, and the firefighters hurry to the truck. - **Smoke alarm**: A smoke alarm beeps loudly when it smells smoke. If you hear it, go outside to your meeting place, and stay there. - **Stop, drop and roll**: If your clothes ever catch fire: stop, drop to the ground, cover your face, and roll over and over. Then tell a grown-up. - **Clean and ready**: After every job, firefighters wash the truck and check their gear, so everything is ready for the next call. ## Getting the science right What we checked, and the myths we steer around: - American firefighters wear "turnout gear" (also called bunker gear): a thick coat and trousers of fire-resistant cloth with reflective stripes, tall boots, a helmet, gloves and a hood. Firefighters keep the trousers pulled down over their boots so they can step into both at once. The page leaves out the hood and gloves so the face and hands stay friendly and visible. - The air tank is an SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus): a cylinder of compressed air on a back frame, with a full face mask. Firefighters use it in smoke. Many children are frightened by a firefighter in a mask: the page shows the face through the clear mask on purpose ("Under the mask is a kind helper"), the message fire educators teach. - The helmet is a traditional American style with a long back brim and a front shield. Real helmets come in several colors (red, black, yellow, white) that can show a firefighter's rank or company. - The truck is an "engine" (pumper): it carries hoses, a water tank, a pump and ground ladders on its roof. Big aerial ladders are on separate ladder trucks. Firefighters connect a supply hose from a hydrant to the engine's pump, and the pump pushes water through the attack hose. - Firefighters do sometimes help animals stuck up trees, though cats usually come down by themselves. The page shows a ground ladder from the truck, climbed slowly, one rung at a time. - Fire safety (NFPA and US Fire Administration guidance for young children): if a smoke alarm sounds, get out and stay out, go to your family's outside meeting place, and never hide (under beds, in closets); firefighters are looking for you. If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop, cover your face and roll. Call 911 in an emergency. - Gentle wording: the only fire shown is a small campfire left burning in a park ring; no houses burn and no one is hurt. Fire is described as something grown-ups look after, never as something to play with. - The firefighter is a real 3D scan of a person (Renderpeople, CC BY) in recolored clothes, with his gear made for this page and fitted over his body; the paintings were made for this page with a local image model (FLUX.2 [klein], Apache 2.0) in the style of the site's other watercolors. ## How to use it with children Watch the whole story with the sound on. Pause on "getting dressed" and name each piece of gear as it goes on. Then pull the slider to look closer, and at the table spread everything out and tap the helmet, the mask and the air tank. Ask more than you tell, and let the child drive. Then step away from the screen: practice at home or in class: find your outside meeting place together, and practice "stop, drop and roll" on a soft carpet (cover your face with your hands). Look for fire hydrants and smoke alarms on a walk. If you can, visit a fire station: many have open days, and firefighters love to show their gear. A few minutes together is plenty. The exhibit is a doorway to the real thing, not a replacement for it. ## Credits and licenses The real scans, maps and photographs belong to their makers, under the licenses below. The words, story and code are Curiosity's Child's. - Fire truck: [comrade1280](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/generic-civil-service-vehicles-pack-8ff2a13f30914932a70c7950cfa58465) (CC BY), cut into its parts - The firefighter: [Manuel, a real 3D scan by Renderpeople](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/manuel-animated-001-3d-dancing-man-e65e0fef4e0743868c8d5bff36d61116) (CC BY), recolored and posed in code; his gear is made for this page - Hydrant: [jvouillon](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/fire-hydrant-7f9164e6018c4ec7a3585bbf6e6d70df) (CC BY) - Kitten: [ItsKrish7](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/cute-kitten-c5b1469074d9494c9bcfb2a535a2ff32) (CC BY) - Campfire logs: [digrafstudio](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/campfire-wood-survival-warm-and-light-efd0ac8c5cca46bfaae91b3851b9c75f) (CC BY) - Smoke alarm: [sousinho](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/simple-smoke-detector-8db756d4c1564f3197f2415ec2ef7fec) (CC BY) - Alarm bell: [almartin](https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/school-alarm-bell-a8382ca5ce3643d28a92f11deaa5e58e) (CC BY) - Table and light: [Poly Haven](https://polyhaven.com) (CC0) - The station, the street and the park: watercolors made with FLUX.2 [klein] (Apache 2.0) - Water, flames and lights made in code - Sounds from Freesound ([CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)): [mzui](https://freesound.org/s/135074/), [ibirdfilm](https://freesound.org/s/128160/), [kyles](https://freesound.org/s/635734/), [a hose](https://freesound.org/s/383713/), [RyanKingArt](https://freesound.org/s/746366/), [RemyMarshal](https://freesound.org/s/860385/), [Breviceps](https://freesound.org/s/448084/), [Bloofrzo](https://freesound.org/s/819807/) - Music-box march made for this page - Narrated by Kelly, in her own voice ## More on the Things That Go shelf - [The Electric Car](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/car/index.md): An electric family car’s whole day: buckle up, drive the lanes, swish through the rain. Then pull it apart! - [The Excavator](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/excavator/index.md): Dig, scoop and pour! Meet the driver, fill the dump truck, then pull the digger apart. - [The Gas Station](https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/gas-station/index.md): Fill up the car, look inside the pump, and find the giant tanks under the ground. Click! Full! ## About Bag of Wonder A free library of interactive 3D "look inside" science exhibits, made at Curiosity's Child, a licensed home daycare in Troy, Michigan. Secular and science-based; welcoming to all. - All exhibits and how we make them: https://bagofwonder.com/llms.txt - For grown-ups and AI assistants: https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/about/ - To cite: "The Firefighter", Bag of Wonder, Curiosity's Child (Troy, Michigan). https://bagofwonder.com/look-inside/firefighter/