The Fire Pole

It's Fire Prevention Week just in case you were wondering. As a builder and remodeler I'm a total freak about smoke detectors too. Anytime you renovate your home you're required to comply with that code and I'm all for it. Anyway, my sweet wife found out about an Open House at the Fire Station so we took the little nugget and both sides of the family and had a great time.

It got me thinking though about the fire pole and how we could incorporate it in the next house. This particular station did not have one but I think it's one of the coolest things. We did a couple different renovation projects for a badass athlete (now retired) a few years back. His father was a firefighter back in the day and one thing he wanted for sure when we were planning the project was a traditional fireplace - no prefab here. He knew how to build a fire and was proud of it. We also kind of joked about a fire pole but it just never made it into the plans. Obviously not the safest item if you have small kids but it would be sweet if you could sneak it in somewhere. Maybe a closet or even in a Library.

Look for an open house if you have the opportunity this week and give these guys some love. They do an amazing service to the community, they're extremely proud and it's educational for everyone.

photos via LAFD Museum and RDT Ventures LLC