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Students learn about fire safety
As smoke filled the room that they were sitting in, a group of local students had to find a way out of the building.
Since the stairs contained smoke, students climbed out of a window and down a ladder in order to free themselves from the danger.
The building the students were in was the Fort Scott Fire Department’s Fire House. The smoke that the students were trying to escape from was not a threat to the students, but it gave the Fort Scott Christian Heights elementary school students a good idea of what it could be like if their houses were to catch on fire.
The students who participated in an exercise on Wednesday, were educated by the firefighters about house fires. The kindergarten class was brought into the house to play a game which was designed to help the children recognize the difference between a toy and a tool. This exercise helps the students to understand that it is not okay to play with tools such as matches or lighters. The firefighters told the children that these items are not toys and could catch something on fire.
According to Lieutenant Daren Hutchinson, the older students were escorted up the small flight of stairs, which leads to the upper section of the fire house. In the small room, students learned that they need to find two ways out of their house. This way in case a fire or smoke has blocked the usual way out of the house, they will have an alternate exit to use, Hutchinson said. During Wednesday’s event, the alternate way out of the fire house was out of the window and down a ladder, he said.
The students were told that it is important to talk with their parents and designate a family meeting place, in case of a fire. The meeting place for the training exercise was a street sign that the firemen brought with them.
After the students’ escaped from the smoking house, they practiced making 911 calls. The phone that the fire fighters displayed was wired so that the students could pick up the receiver, dial the number and talk with another firefighter who was out of sight.
After the firefighter asked the students what their emergencies were, he gave them instructions to follow depending on the circumstance. For instance, if a student told him that their house was on fire and he or she was still inside the structure, the firefighter, after getting the house address, asked the caller to hang up and call him back from a neighbor’s house.
At the event, Captain Paul Ballou led the students on a tour of the fire truck. They were also shown what fire fighter Steven Gass looks like in his bunker gear. Ballou explained to the students that they should not be afraid if they are stuck in a fire, and they see someone dressed up like Gass.
“We would be trying to rescue you. Don’t be scared,” he said.
When asked what is the most important information for parents to know about fire saftey and keeping their children safe, Ballou and Hutchinson said that having working smoke detectors is extremely important.
“Smoke detectors should be placed outside bedrooms,” Ballou said.
According to Hutchinson, there should be at least one detector on each floor and more than that if bedrooms are not located closely together. The batteries inside the detectors should be replaced at least one time each year, he said.
Ballou also said that he encourages parents to discuss an escape plan with their children. Parents should help the children locate at least two ways out of the house. One important detail that parents sometimes overlook is that if a window is going to be used as an escape route, the children must be able to open the window. Ballou suggests that parents make sure that windows, which may need to be used as an escape route can be easily opened by their children.
According to Hutchinson, the fire fighters provide safety training for about 1,300 kids per year.
Although there is no way to measure the effects of the fire house training, Hutchinson said that he thinks that it is extremely beneficial.
“We would like to think that things are prevented because of this, but there is no way to measure its success,” he said.