It’s a dream of most kids, growing up to be a fireman, or a fire girl, which is the desire of five-year-old Karlie Demel.

The young students at Sandy Henningson’s Learning Lanes Pre-School in Hays got to meet real firefighters Friday afternoon when they visited  the fire station in downtown Hays.

Firefighter Justin Choitz was their tour guide.  The kids checked out all the gear a fireman wears when battling a blaze and heard the loud noise of air flowing from the airpack into his facemask.

The big red fire engines were also impressive.

Most of the youngsters agreed the best part was watching the firemen slide down the pole in their living quarters  to the lower floor when a fire call comes in.

Four-year old Noah Schaeffer describes the move as “fast as a race car.”

See more tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.