October is Fire Prevention Month and Oct. 8-14 is National Fire Prevention Week. Local firefighters recently visited Indian Lake Elementary and Benjamin Logan Elementary to detail fire safety and teach students how to escape safety if a fire breaks out.
At ILES, volunteers from the Indian Joint Fire District, Russells Point Police and the Lakeview Fire Department showed students their fire trucks at ILES.
In addition, students watched a video about how to escape a fire and establish a family meeting place. Firefighters also put on all their equipment so the children can see what they look like dressed in their protective boots, coats, gloves, mask, helmet and air tank.
Russells Point Police Chief/volunteer firefighter Joe Freyhof urged the kids to decide with their parents on a family meeting place outside their home to gather if a fire ever breaks out.
Firefighters also encouraged the children to talk to their parents about having working smoke detectors and testing them regularly. All area fire departments have smoke detectors available free of charge. Smoke detector batteries should be changed once a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
At BLES, Rushcreek Fire & EMS volunteer Mike Overturf has been visiting with students to provide fire safety education for 29 years.
Overturf, along with Doug Lyons, Dave Davis, DC Foulk, and Duane Van Buskirk volunteered to help cover the fire safety topics this week.
The BLES preschool, kindergarten and first-grade students had the chance to interact and become comfortable with firefighters in full gear to alleviate any fears to help prevent them from hiding during an emergency.
The firefighters let the students know they are here to help keep them safe.
Some of the fire safety tips covered during the visit included:
• Not to breathe smoke, smoke is dangerous;
• Crawl low, stay under the smoke, and go to your meeting place;
• When smoke alarm sounds, Get Out and Stay Out;
• Check the door with the back of your hand, do not touch if hot;
• Go to a window and if you can, get out of the window safely;
• Have a meeting area outside of your house that everyone in the house knows about away from the house;
• If you cannot get out of your window safely, stay low on the floor right by your window, don’t hide; and
• Never go back into house for any reason.
The firefighters encouraged the students to identify good things and bad things with regard to things in the home that may be dangerous such as candles.
Lakeview Fire Firefighters Amy Stevens and her son, Eldon Stevens, show their fire equipment to Indian Lake Elementary second-graders. (Indian Lake Schools Photo)
Mike Overturf shows Benjamin Logan Elementary pupils his firefighting gear. (Benjamin Logan PHOTO)
