The Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department held its annual open house on Saturday, April 18, giving guests an opportunity to tour the grounds and to participate in hands-on activities.

Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Ellis said the event gave people a chance to see what the department and other services in Fairhope do for the community, with the city's police department, public works department and Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency also in attendance during Saturday's event. Kids who came out also got hands-on with the fire department, with fire hoses to spray at targets and fire trucks and emergency vehicles for them to sit in.

Guests were also able to get a first-hand look at the new three-story training facility located on-site, designed to simulate real-life emergencies. Ellis said the new facility was entirely funded with a $750,000 donation from the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation.

"We burn pallets and hay and practice fire attacks," Ellis said. "It's also set up to do searches, [and] the very top is also set up for rope rescue as well, so we can set up to do that. It's an update from the building we had here when they first built the training facility in 1992," Ellis said.

The new facility is named in honor of Alfred "Skeeter" Nelson, a firefighter who was severely burned while on duty in 1954. Skeeter's children were in attendance for Saturday's open house event, which included Janet Helms, Dorothy Bowen and Eddie Nelson.

"I think it's cool for them to see that we've continued to remember him all these years later," Ellis said. "The current generation of the fire
department didn't know much about Skeeter other than he was a name. Our training field has always been dedicated to him, but after talking with them and learning about Skeeter, it was really cool and it was great that they came out to see this."