MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Fire Department proved Thursday afternoon there is more than one way to fight a blaze.
Not surprisingly, it involved hoses and water.
Temperatures soared into the 90s again as an extreme heat warning continued for a third straight day across north central Ohio.
So instead of battling flames, firefighters rolled a ladder truck into North Lake Park and declared war on overheated kids.
The giant aerial ladder stretched into the sky while hoses fed it water around 55 degrees and also sent cooling H20 spraying from nozzles developed by the department to combat electrical vehicle fires.
Basically, they are boxes with holes that allow water to spray upward toward a battery during an EV blaze.
It was a system that transformed the park into the city’s biggest backyard splash pad under the watchful eyes of Safety Service Director Keith Porch and fire Chief Dan Crow, an effort led by Capt. Matt Shafley.
Within seconds, dozens of children sprinted through the cool spray, shrieking with laughter as parents happily watched Mother Nature lose a heated argument.
For one glorious afternoon, firefighters traded smoke for squeals, emergency calls for walls of water and fire suppression for heat suppression. The only thing getting extinguished was everyone’s body temperature.
Kids darted through the mist over and over again, apparently subscribing to the scientific theory that if one trip through the sprinkler is fun, 137 trips must be even better.
The ladder truck, usually reserved for serious business, became the tallest water toy in Richland County. Even adults looked tempted to “accidentally” wander through the spray, including Shafley, who again demonstrated the best way to run through a sprinkler.
With the sun blazing overhead, the MFD delivered the perfect reminder that heroes don’t always arrive to put out fires.
Sometimes they just show up with really, really big sprinklers.
(Below are photos from Thursday afternoon at North Lake Park as the Mansfield Fire Department provided two hours of heat relief for children.)
