Getting to use the fire hose may have been the highlight of the night last week for St John cadets working on their fire safety badge.
Wanganui firefighters spent last Wednesday evening giving youngsters fire safety training - teaching them how to put out pot fires and how to use extinguishers.
St John cadets divisional manager Paula Tolley said the best parts for the kids was learning how to safely put out a fire, and "being allowed to squirt a fire hose".
"They were still talking about it last night," Ms Tolley said.
The most valuable lesson the cadets had learnt was about getting out of a house when there was a fire, she said.
"A lot of our young boys thought it would be a good plan to save the household and put the fire out themselves."
Following the safety training though, she said the boys had had the message drummed into them not to be heroes.
The youngest cadet on the night was 6, while the oldest was was nearly 17, Ms Tolley said.
Fire risk management officer Shane Dudley said there were 37 in the group all up.
"The highlight for us would have been seeing them use a fire extinguisher to put out an oven fire," Mr Dudley said.
"They were really positive about everything. They knew a lot about fires, to be honest."
It was still important for the firefighters to get the message across to the cadets that they needed to get out of any burning house, he said.
"If you have got an oven fire, don't try and put it out yourself in the first instance," he said.
It was important to get everybody out of the house and call 111 first, and return to put out the fire only if it was safe.
"We love doing this," he said. "Any other community groups that want to do something similar, give us a call."