By Olivia Drake, HVFCo. Public Information Officer.
(Oct. 15, 2018) — Last week, members of Haddam Volunteer Fire Company visited five area schools to raise awareness about fire prevention and safety. The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 2018 Fire Prevention Week theme is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.”
On Oct. 9 and 10, members visited children at Young Horizons Daycare, Cougar Cubs Daycare, Haddam Co-Op Nursery School, Haddam Elementary School and Burr Elementary School and provided lessons to all children up to fourth grade. Firefighters taught the students about the importance of calling 9-1-1; changing batteries in smoke alarms and CO detectors; how to stop-drop-and-roll; how to properly feel for heat against a door during a fire; how to call out for help. They also stressed why it’s important for their parents never to let a car warm up in a closed garage because of CO issues; create a family meeting place in the event of a emergency; and learn two ways out of every room.
Members also dressed in full turnout gear and offered high-fives to the children.
“We want the children to know that firefighters may look and sound scary, but they shouldn’t fear us,” said Lt. Franklin Pierce, chair of HVFC’s Fire Prevention Committee. “We are regular people underneath all that gear and we are there to help them during an emergency.
Firefighters also showed the students thermal imaging camera demonstrations and allowed the kids to touch, feel and try on their firefighting gloves, helmets and coats. Some Haddam Co-Op Nursery School students, their parents and teachers were given a full tour of HVFC’s Station One.
Since 1922, the NFPA has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in the country. During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.
The 2018 campaign, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” works to educate children about three basic but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood of having a fire––and how to escape safely in the event of one:
LOOK for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.
LISTEN for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.
LEARN two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.
For more information visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Ed…/…/Fire-Prevention-Week/About
Photos by Olivia Drake.
