One kid after another put on firefighter gear and ran through an obstacle course during Saturday’s LaGrange Fire Department Citizens Day at the LaGrange Mall.

Each jumped over obstacles, crawled through a pipe and ran with equipment as they got a chance to see what real firefighters deal with. As they ran, firefighter Alex Aleman ran with them, guiding them through each obstacle and helping them over when they needed help. It was hard to tell who was working harder.

“They get a chance to put the firefighting gear on and actually go through some simulated activities that the firefighters actually go through in their drills,” said Lt. Chris Taylor. “It’s always great because you see the kids in those small firefighter uniforms, and it’s just a beautiful moment.”

The fire department also gave rides to children in the fire trucks and did fire safety demonstrations using a fire safety house.

Rookie firefighters, who had been on the job for eight months or less, took part in a fire hydrant skill competition. Blood pressure checks were also available at the mall.

“Our Citizen Day is our way of showing our appreciation to the community and our support that we give them,” Taylor said. “This gives them an opportunity to give them a look at what we have to offer and what we do on a daily basis.”

Fire Prevention Week was earlier this month in October and the theme was having two ways out of every home and having a fire escape plan. Taylor said firefighters talked to families that attended Saturday’s event about both of those things.

“We echo that throughout the month,” Taylor said. “That’s a big thing we did in our fire safety house.

Taylor said the fire department also discussed other fire prevention tips with the holidays coming up.