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Show October 26, 2000 Pdf Pf'J7d,dGdei A f' Safety message taken to school Hilltop Times staff To prevent fires and educate children on the dangers associated with it, base firefighters went back to school during Fire Safety Week Oct. 8-1- 4. The safety message hit home with the young crowd at Hill Field Elementary School. You want to learn about safety because if you dont you might make mistakes and have a fire, said 7 12-- y ear-ol- d Dakota Jensen, who knows burns come from more than fires. Im careful of not turning on the bathtub so hot and make sure I dont crash down pots that are really hot and filled with water. The second grader was one of several hundred that toured the states three-room life Safety Trailer. The first room focused on kitchen safety and using a fire extinguisher. In the second room kids learned about living room and bathroom safety. They were encouraged to keep toys away from the fireplace and avoid touching curling irons. The final room was a bedroom that filled with smoke. Children were taught how to roll off the bed, staying close to the floor to avoid inhaling smoke. Then, before exiting, kids felt the bedroom door with the back of their hands to see if it was hot. Dakota and his classmates also learned what a firefighter will look and sound like when crawling through smoke. Firefighters said at times they, can sound and look like Darth Yader, which often scares young children. When you hear that sound of the firefighters breathing through their masks , you dont have to be scared. You still have to yell out really loud in case they cant see you so good through the smoke so you can be found faster, Dakota said. The smoke is like drugs. Its the type of stuff Kindergarteners and first graders were visited by Sparky the Dog, Smokey the Bear and Hill firefighters. Second, third and fourth graders toured the trailer. And fifth and sixth graders toured a fire truck. Kristine Mitchell, Dakotas second grade teacher, said her class looks forward to the firefighter demonstrations and they reinforce skills learned in class. She said the school spends October class time covering fire safety and she thinks the most important lesson is learning to meeting in a designated place so teachers or parents know a child is safe. Hill firefighter Sandy Cooper said teaching fire safety at the elementary school is something she looks forward to every year. I like their interest Theyre such a captive audience and they really absorb it. I try to get them all to teach their parents and its amazing how many actually do it, Cooper said. Placing an emphasis in fire safety really makes a difference. Ive been in fire fighting for 20 years and Ive seen it make a difference. remains Cooper said the favorite fire prevention associated activ- t s 1 f Uki v 1 , that kills you. by Mary Galbraith 1 u O i - I v S . t .v5 i- J i ' v til ietf. v i - v I yn .v- - ( ii ' V Hi4 - s o M -- t N MrS Photos by Stop-Drop-and-R- ity. Children are reminded not to roll continuously, but rather rock back and forth on the area covered with fire to suffocate it Principal Shauna Lund said safety is the schools number one concern. Fire drills are conducted once a month and earthquake practice is held in the fall and spring. Several faculty members are also participating in the Community Emergency Responder Team, which teaches general emergency responses. Lund said fire poses a real threat and if s important to review safety at the beginning of the school year. Monthly fire drills are timed. Lund said the schools best time was 1:15 and its never taken longer than 1:40 to evacuate all 750 students. At the conclusion of the drill, Lund uses the announcement system to tell students how they did and what they need to work on. We would like to think we will never need it, Lund said. But I think if we did have a fire, oufYIds are used to it enough that they wouldnt know if there was an actual fire or it was a drill. During drills, each teacher brings along an emergency bucket filled with a first aid kit, drinking water, garbage bags that can be used as makeshift raincoats, emergency information for each child and a vest for teachers so parents can easily identify them. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 300 children die and another 3,000 are injured each year by child set fires. The Utah State Fire Marshals Office states: the number one cause of fire and burn deaths for children under age 5 is playing with matches; one third of children killed by fire set it themselves; and without intervention 80 percent of juvenile repeat the behavior, which can lead to arson (over half of the people arrested for arson are under age 18) . Its a wonderful thing to teach these youngsters fire safety practices, said Jim Maryott, assistant base fire chief. We want to start off early with the fire prevention message so they remember it and we can build upon it year to year. Children show safety knowledge throuah artwork conjunction with Fire Safety Week, base firefighters sponsored a Hill Field Elementary School poster contest. Second grade poster winner Matthew Peters, above, stresses the importance of smoke detectors. Fourth grade winner Jasmine McCaslins poster, near right, highlights the significance of preventing both forest and community fires. Third grade winner Eli Gremans poster, far right, illustrates a family meeting at a designated point during a house fire. In Mary Galbraith firefighters spent a day with Hill Field Elementary School students teaching kids fire safety. Firefighters were accompanied by Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Dog and the state Fire Marshals Life Safety Trailer. The trailer permits firefighters to demonstrate hazardous situations in the home. Hill ...np r! prw" fire-sette- rs |