With October being Fire Safety Month, Rolla firefighters are taking lessons for life to area schools, and Tuesday students from Wyman Elementary School benefited.
“The first full week of October is always Fire Prevention Week, but we’re taking the whole month to get to students in Rolla Schools,” said Ron Smith, Rolla Fire Departments Training Officer. “This is the time to educate people, when they’re young. You create good fire safety habits now, and you have them for life.”
Students in kindergarten through fourth-grade experienced five stations, ranging from operating a fire hose, viewing the ladder truck, extinguishing a fire, finding their way through the smoke trailer and seeing how the Jaws of Life can cut auto metal to rescue accident victims.
“We’re empowering kids to take control of their fire safety,” Smith said. “They learn to arm their smoke detectors, changing the batteries and to know ahead of time their fire escape routes.”
At Wyman Elementary, about 400 students experienced the five stations. Today, weather permitting, students at Mark Twain Elementary will get the same lessons. The day before, Monday, students at Truman Elementary benefited from the approximate 15 to 20 firefighters who are on hand.
“Our participation varies a little every day, depending on the staff,” Smith said. “However, we have staff versed in every area — so every student, regardless of the day, gets the same training and experience.”
When the month concludes, 2,000-plus students in Rolla — at the public, private and parochial schools — will have received the Fire Safety Month experience.
“We’ve been doing this for some time,” Smith said. “I’ve had people who experienced this years ago come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I still change the batteries in my smoke detector like you showed us.’ That just goes to show how we can make a difference with these young people,” Smith said.
The Fire Safety Month program is made possible by $7,000 in donations from 51 area businesses.
“We get various amonts. Some as much as $500 and others are $25, but they are all important to get the message out,” said Smith, who also serves as the department’s public education officer.
All students also receive an “Official Fire Safety Manual,” a publication by the National Fire Safety Council. The booklet may be colored, and it offers tips on protecting the family’s kitchen from fire and the bedrooms. It also offers checklists and games for students.
“It’s a great book for the children. It’s a great program,” Smith said of the program that is also known as the Fire Pup Program.