CRC Fire Station mascot

by PV2 Han-him Chang

CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea – Most of the Soldiers stationed in Camp Red Cloud have seen a Dalmatian when going in and out the front gate. This dog named ‘Sparky’ is a mascot of the CRC Fire Station which guards not only the fire station but its camp 24-seven.

Did you know that Sparky is a nation-wide official mascot’s name for all the Dalmatian fire dogs.

Since 1951, the Dalmatian has been the official mascot of the “National Fire Protection Association,” a U.S. organization for fire prevention training and maintaining minimum standards. According to NFPA, it has “always been an influential figure in fire prevention” and “his success can be attributed to collaboration with firefighters and others to educate the public on important prevention and safety messages.”

Sparky arrived on CRC in September 2004, when she was only 2 months old.

John H. Cook, the USAG-Red Cloud Fire chief, said he grew up with many dogs but Sparky is one of the smartest among them.

“It only took around six months for her to catch up with the basic tricks,” said Cook. “She now even recognizes that I am the chief of this place. She even gets into our formation every morning and stay still until I put out all the information. She finally falls out after all the other fire fighters do.”

Getting into formation is not the only task that she can do. She follows the basic orders such as “sit,” “roll” or “get into the fire truck;” conducts her own physical training by running on a treadmill; and when the siren turns on, she sits still and howls as hard as she can with her heads facing the sky, as if she wanted to alert the public that a fire truck is coming.

“All the movement drills she performs are the key movements on escaping from the fire,” added Cook about her contribution to the station. “Her demonstration is crucial for the fire safety training, especially for children. She entertains them and catches their attention to pass out the critical fire safety messages. Obviously, she plays a key role as an essential member of the team.”

Oh Dong-hwan, a fire fighter for CRC fire station and Sparky’s trainer, spends much time with her teaching tricks and demonstration techniques.

“We consider her as a Family member here,” said Oh.

Sparky has a busy schedule, which rivals some 2nd Infantry Division leaders. Her most important project will be the second week of October, when a nation-wide Fire Prevention Week will occur. Using the theme of “Protect Your Family from Fire” CRC fire station is preparing their program opened for everyone who wants to participate.

“Our goal is to collaborate with [Sparky] as much as we can to educate the people on fire prevention and safety messages,” said Oh. “However, we will also keep an eye on her, since what we consider the most is her health and happiness.”

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