By Sarah Gooding
Pittsburg Morning Sun – October 2, 2013
Firefighter Charles Cummins supervises as Logan Cummins and Davin McMurry, both first-grade students at Lakeside Elementary, practice crawling out of a smoke-filled room during an exercise Tuesday morning in preparation for Fire Prevention Week.
When firefighters consider how to teach fire prevention and safety, the best method for getting the message across is to teach it to the youngest members of the household.
Pittsburg Fire Chief Mike Simons said children often then teach parents and other household members what they have learned.
“The best thing we can do, as far as the long-term positive effect in preventing fires, comes from the children,” he said.
For this reason, firefighters are celebrating National Fire Prevention Week by teaching children around the area about fire safety.
“It not only protects kids, but also families,” Simons said.
Two different types of activities were planned for students in Pittsburg-area schools this week.
Most classes spent time looking at one of the department’s large ladder trucks, and other classes, such as first graders at Lakeside Elementary, were scheduled to participate in a simulation exercise in which they would exit a trailer through smoke.
While the full smoke simulation wasn’t working Tuesday morning, first-grade students still walked through the process, including laying down on a bed until hearing the smoke detector, then rolling out of bed, crawling along the floor, feeling a door with the backs of their hands and exiting the “building,” then meeting at a designated safe spot.
“When you go home, you talk to your parents about this practice,” instructed firefighter Charles Cummins, who helped with the activity.
Students agreed to talk about it with their families.
Other classes spent their time with firefighters checking out the equipment and hearing more about the history of fire prevention week.
“Every year this time, we come to talk to kids,” said Bob Gardullo, a firefighter with the Pittsburg Fire Department.
He told kindergarten students it is important to practice what to do in an emergency and to understand what qualifies as an emergency.
“We want to teach you, in case you get in an emergency situation, what to do so you don’t get hurt,” Gardullo said.
He also talked fire department basics with younger children.
“What do I call if my house is full of smoke?” he asked.
“911,” shouted the kindergartners.
He also talked with them about feeling to see if doors are hot, and if so he instructed them to wait by the windows.
“If you can’t get out, you’ve seen our ladder truck,” he said. “We have ladders that can reach every window in Pittsburg.”
Kindergartners also had the opportunity to see a firefighter gear up.
Terry Powell began to put on his gear piece by piece, and firefighter Andrew Kirksey explained to children what was taking place.
“Terry is changing, but he is still firefighter Terry,” Kirksey said.
Gardullo noted that when Powell breathes he sounds like Darth Vader, but that means the air is working.
Firefighters also emphasized the importance of not being scared of or running away from a firefighter in uniform.
“We’re going to have Terry crawl around to make sure nobody’s afraid of him,” Gardullo said, and Powell crawled up to several children and exchanged high-fives.
Firefighters said older children would learn more about how to cook safely, including where to keep pot handles and other kitchen safety basics, and the demonstration will travel to several schools this week.
Next week, firefighters will be around again with another demonstration for schools and a series of demonstrations at Meadowbrook Mall during the evenings.
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