FireZone

Location: 1100 National Parkway, Schaumburg, IL 60173

Phone: 847-824-3473

Hours: Vary. Check their website for weekly drop-in hours. Drop-in activities are for 1 hour only and are limited to only 40 children.

Admission: $9 per child. Adults and children under 2 are free.

Parking: There is free parking in the attached lot.

Bathrooms: There are private bathrooms with changing table. 

Nursing: There is no designated nursing area.

Handicapped/stroller accessibility: It is accessible. FireZone is a single story and most of it is very open. Unless you have an infant, a stroller really isn’t necessary.

Other amenities: There is a closet for hanging coats in the party room. FireZone has a variety of birthday party packages and private weekday playgroups, as well as field trips, team building workshops, and firetruck rentals. There are also firefighter themed items available for purchase, such as small toys, cups, t-shirts, and firefighter outfits.

Food/eating area: There is an eating area for birthday parties, but not for drop in activities. No food is available, except for pizza, juice, and cake for parties.

 

  

  
We paid: $9. Cooper was $9, I was free, and Dexter is under 2 so he was free.

Dexter, my future mover, rearranging the furniture in the burning house. Hey, fire is no excuse for bad feng shui.

Our experience:
I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while because I knew my boys would love it, and I was right. Drop-in activities are one hour sessions available only one or two days a week, so it was a little difficult to fit it in our schedule, but well worth it. I made sure we were there on time so we could take advantage of the full hour, and I was also concerned because they only allow 40 children in, but when we went there were only about 20 kids.
The play area was large and open, which was nice when you’re trying to keep an eye on two kids. Both my kids ran in opposite directions (as usual), but I was able to let them both play where they wanted and still see them both. All the activities where perfect for toddlers; even the stairs into the fire truck were closer together so it was easier for kids to climb. It wasn’t too crowded and there was plenty to keep the kids busy for a full hour. 

The employees were very friendly and engaging, and were in the play area interacting with the kids. Fifteen minutes or so before the end of the play time, a firefighter gathered the kids together to show them his gear. He joked with the kids and showed them how he got dressed for a fire, including putting on his oxygen mask and talking to them through it. Besides being entertaining for the kids, the message was that firefighters may look scary with their gear on, but there’s no reason to be scared of them, and that it’s important to not hide from firefighters, but call out and help them find you. The kids were very entertained and I was very impressed with the presentation. I periodically discuss with Cooper what he should do if he gets lost and now I’ll be adding to that what he should do if there’s a fire. 
Cooper’s only complaint? They didn’t have beds. He thought since firefighters sleep in the firehouse there should have been beds there. That didn’t stop him from asking if we could go back soon though.