MANSFIELD — Neal Snyder never battled a real fire.
But the leader of the Firefighter Training Show may have helped save the lives of children through his entertaining, educational program at fairs around the country since 2006.
“My brother is a firefighter and he helped me put the show together,” the 60-year-old Snyder said after a performance Tuesday at the Richland County Fair.
“He’s retired now and (we) just like helping kids learn what to do in case of a fire,” the Port Charlotte, Fla., resident said.
Snyder said he enjoys seeing the youngsters having fun — and learning.
“You see them come out of their shell. When they first start in the show, they’re very timid and don’t know what to expect,” said Snyder, who is doing shows daily at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the fairgrounds.
“By the end, they’re the stars of the show and they’re feeling pretty good about themselves. They get a little excited that maybe they could actually become a firefighter someday,” Snyder said.
Snyder got his start in the entertainment business in 1992 when he started Alligator Adventures, a live alligator exhibit.
He toured fairs and festivals for 14 years before selling the attraction to start something new — the Firefighter Training Show.
During his show Tuesday, Snyder invited four children from the audience to become “firefighter trainees,” dividing them into two teams.
After each donned their firefighting jackets and helmets, the “alarm” sounded and each child — with coaching from Snyder — demonstrated how a firefighter may battle a small house fire.
The children learned how to unroll a fire hose, attach a nozzle and carry a fire extinguisher. They used those extinguishers to spray water into a house “window,” knocking down the fake flames.
After each team performed, gaining cheers from the audience, each team had to race to take off their nozzles, roll up their hoses and put away the extinguishers.
Both teams then got to climb the “water tower” and aim a “water cannon” at the audience, an effort that instead produced a satisfying puff of smoke.
After the show, all children in the audience were invited to practice a “home escape plan” by getting on their hands and knees to crawl low through the “smoke house” and escape a would-be fire.
Snyder, who was at the Greene County Fair last week and will be at the Muskingum County fair next week, stressed to the children that in the event of a house fire: Don’t hide. Go outside.
(Check out the photo gallery below for more images from the show.)
