By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE — Distant thunder rumbled across Lake Erie Sunday morning, sending most firefighters home early from the Fireman’s Roundup at the Landing Festival Marketplace at Geneva-on-the-Lake.
But neither rain nor thunder nor scorching sun would deter Mentor firefighter Don Zimmerman from his spot next to “Phillip the Fire Truck.”
The 1986 truck, affectionately called Phillip, was retired from the Mentor Fire Department last year. Instead of going to the big safety vehicle junkyard in the sky, the firefighters rallied to use the engine in a new way.
Phillip the Fire Truck is the star of the Mentor Safety Village, a comprehensive and realistic town filled with safety information, interactive lessons and real-life safety vehicles.
Real trains cross real roadways and children learn how to safely cross. Police officers teach crime prevention and gun safety in the Mentor Safety Village Police Station. In the future, the little village will also have a 911 dispatch center, a town hall and a safety house so children can learn about the dangers in their own homes, Zimmerman said.
Phillip, Zimmerman said, is the fire safety component of the safety village and serves as the project’s mobile operations, traveling to events to promote fire safety and Mentor’s Safety Village.
“The firefighters just weren’t ready to let Phillip go. We knew there was a purpose for him even when he wasn’t going to fires,” Zimmerman said. “(The Fireman’s Roundup) is the perfect event for Phillip.”
Phillip is also part of the Mentor Fire Museum.
“Our purpose with Phillip is pretty clear,” Zimmerman said. “It is his job to get the message of safety out into the community. There is life after fire service for these old trucks.”
