Future firefighters touch glory

Lindsay Sandham

Firefighters from the Costa Mesa Fire Department responded to a blaze

that engulfed a wood structure in less than five minutes at 2:31 p.m.

Sunday.

This wasn’t a five-alarm fire and no one was injured -- in fact

the fire was intentionally started by the fire department as part of

the city of Costa Mesa’s 11th annual Public Safety Expo held at the

Placentia Fire Station.

The structure-fire demonstration was one of many live exhibits

designed to teach the public about the duties of firefighters and

police officers, as well as give the public an opportunity to see

the equipment purchased with tax dollars and to ask questions.

“It’s as contained a burn as you can have,” said Costa Mesa Fire

Engineer Rene Carrera, an organizer of the event. “We take all

precautions necessary as far as safety. We’re well aware of where our

audience is standing.”

He added that a safety crew is on hand, “just in case.”

Jordan Bonnaire, 3, of Huntington Beach, said the fire was his

favorite part.

“This is better than Disneyland for him,” said his mother, Paula

Bonnaire, who added that ever since he saw the movie “Ladder 49” he’s

been fascinated with firemen and says that’s what he wants to be when

he grows up.

“I want to put out fires,” said Jordan, who likes to be called

“Fireman Jack” after his favorite character in the movie.

Costa Mesa’s Brice Bettinghausen brought his 4-year-old son,

Tristan, to the event. Tristan also wants to be a fireman someday.

“It’s quite an expo,” Bettinghausen said. “They’ve got everything

from safety to the different types of fires they put out. They don’t

just put out fires -- they do so much more.”

Sgt. Dave Hamel, a Costa Mesa police officer, said the expo takes

some of the mystery out of police work for the public, which helps

clear up general misunderstandings. Hamel and other officers who are

trained in SWAT stood behind a table full of machine guns, shotguns

and rifles used in extreme circumstances.

“We handle situations that go beyond the resources of normal

patrol guys,” he said.

The SWAT team gets called out to duty between four and eight times

a year, and the rest of the time they patrol regular beats.

“The better educated the public is, the better relationship they

have with the police department,” Hamel said. “It takes away some of

the misunderstanding -- it’s good for us to open up the channels of

communication.”

Other exhibits at the expo included a high rise rescue and

rappelling, a gas valve fire, a car accident rescue, a helicopter

display and a motorcycle obstacle course.