Frisco Fire Safety Town
8601 Gary Burns Dr., Frisco
972/292-6350
friscotexas.gov/safetytown
Hours: Office open 8am–5pm Monday–Friday.
Admission: Free.
Parking: Free.
When the U.S. Census Bureau last crunched numbers, Frisco was officially dubbed one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. But as the city gets bigger and better, one local attraction will remain tiny. The Frisco Fire Safety Town, located next to Central Fire Station since opening in 2007, is a miniature version of the city with paved streets and 17 buildings modeled after structures from around town and on Main Street: Centennial Medical Center, the Frisco Police Department, even Dallas’ WFAA-Channel 8 studio.
This novel center has a clear purpose: to teach valuable lessons in fire, weather and pedestrian safety all in one place and in a way that resonates with children. Experience them all by joining a Safe and Sound Walk Around. The free educational tours are open to all ages and, best of all, led by a friendly firefighter who’s between shifts.
Your own kids may already be well versed in “green means go” and “red means stop,” but what about crosswalk symbols? The scaled-down village is equipped with working traffic signals that sound out a 10-second countdown – your cue to scurry across the street – and with NTTA lanes so the kids can practice “driving” under the cameras with their TollTag.
The main event is the glistening real-life fire truck inside Safety Town’s educational facility. The kids have surely seen them on the road, sirens blaring, en route to a call. Now they can recreate the scene from the firefighters’ point of view: behind the steering wheel, strapped into a rear-facing seat or hanging onto the back of the truck.
To really drive the lesson of fire safety home, step inside the fire theater. The theater is modeled after a living room post-blaze: walls stained in soot, a warped ceiling fan, melted blinds. Your tour guide will follow a short, age-appropriate film about possible causes for the breakout – for example, a kitchen science experiment gone awry – with a few safety tips about preventing fires at home.
This October for Fire Prevention Month, the clowns of the Frisco Fire Department are taking their antics to Frisco elementary schools. For your own guaranteed encounter with the clowns, treat your family with a return trip for Safety Town’s Halloween festival on October 25. One costume you’re bound to see while trick-or-treating: plenty of aspiring firefighters dressed in their uniform of choice.
Published October 2013
