Fireman Birthday Party at the Jelatek Fire Station!

Aiden and Ian recently received invitations to a fireman themed birthday party. The birthday boy is a huge fan of Fireman Sam, and last year the birthday boy invited a whole brood of hunky firemen to his party at home. I guess this year he's still fixated with fire engines because this time the party was held at at our local fire station!

Honestly, it was also my first time at a fire station. Growing up in an all-girls school, a school trip to the fire station was probably not so interesting for girls. So the minute Hubby drove in, I was gawking in awe at all the red shiny fire trucks in the compound.

Balai Bomba Jelatek.

Red hot chili fire engines, just screaming to be touched. The tall building by the side is where the firemen practice scaling up and down buildings.

The minute we parked, the kids were raring to get out of the car. After a quick pep talk about behaving, we allowed them out. The fire station was huge and airy. There was also a dessert table complete with a fireman cake and matching candies. We found a place to sit and got our food. Just as we about to dive into our food, mummy of the birthday boy asked whether Aiden wanted to dress up in a fireman suit (courtesy of the fire station). Of course all the food got forgotten and he went to get changed.

The birthday cake and matching cupcakes.

While waiting for Aiden, we had our food just beside the fire truck!

As soon as Aiden walked out, our jaws dropped. The suit was a perfect fit and it was a complete mini fireman uniform - jacket, trousers, boots... even a mini helmet! He looked really handsome in it. Take a look and tell me what you think:

Not such a perfect fit for Raziq, but awwww shooo cute!

Anyway, the kids had the time of their lives. Not only did they get to ride on the fire truck - three rounds no less; they were also allowed to try to slide down the fireman pole! And it was such a pity that it rained because if not they could have done some real fire fighting, and witness the firemen practicing their climbs outside. Who knew that the fire station could provide so many interesting activities for the kids!

They bundled up the kids into the fire truck, and it went round and round the compound - lights and sirens and all.

Erm... I hitched a ride too. *chuckles*

I have a feeling Aiden is going to change his dream occupation soon...

I had sort of suspected that Aiden would chicken out over the whole sliding down the pole activity. The fact that he agreed to walk up pun I was already oh so impressed. Once he was up there, I told Hubby not to make any eye contact with him. As expected, he hesitated at first but since he couldn't see any of us (we were hiding underneath the overhead deck and waiting by the pole to take a video of him coming down) I guess he was sort of forced into the whole thing. But I'm so glad he did! Cos once it was over, he actually admitted that he had fun!

Aiden looking nervously up, and once upstairs - smiled nervously at us.

Check out the death grip he was giving the poor fireman! *grin* And of course, a thumbs up afterwards.

Here's the video of him going down the pole. (Yes, of course I videoed the whole thing! *giggles*) And a short interview of how he felt afterwards:

After that whole 'terrifying' (for Aiden at least!) but fun experience, the kids were allowed to just run around and explore the station. The goody bags also had bubble wands in them, so it was not long before every child was seen running around blowing bubbles. Between Hubby and I, don't think we managed to sit and eat anything, as we were too busy chasing the two boys. Oh well, as long as they have fun, kan?

Ian lovesssss helium balloons.

Ian finally figured out how to blow bubbles! Yeayy!! *claps hand in delight*

After several hours, we managed to coax Aiden and Ian to go home. We snapped our last few pictures - with the fire truck, the hostess and the firemen crew, and bundled the kids in the car. At that point, Ian dah lentok lentok dah mengantuk - I think he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the car seat.

How can we resist a picture with the mighty fire engine?

Thanks for having us Kina! Lovely party, as usual!

The cute bomba cilik posing with our local heroes.

Anyway, if you're planning a fireman party, why don't you try contacting your local fire station? All you need is to write a formal letter stating your intention. Follow up with the fire station religiously, and pray hard that they say yes. (Not that they want to say no, but rather because they have to inform other close-by fire stations of your event so that those fire stations can cover for them in case of any emergencies. You don't want the fire engine to have to drive off in the middle of your birthday party, do you?) Some fire stations charge a minimal amount, some don't. But even if they don't, it's just Malaysian culture to tip kan?

Last but not least, thank you Balai Bomba Jelatek for hosting the party. We ALL certainly had fun!