Rushcreek Fire & EMS and volunteer Mike Overturf have been providing fire safety education to Benjamin Logan Elementary students for 26 years, teaching pupils how to get out of a burning house safely and quickly, and also informing them not to ever go back into a house or building to retrieve personal items.
Tuesday, kindergarten students had the chance to interact and become comfortable with firefighters in full gear to alleviate any fears and to help prevent them from hiding during an emergency.
Danny Foulk, Jeremy Brisson and Shannon Stineman assisted Overturf with the school presentation. As community volunteers, the firefighters let the students know they are here to help keep them safe.
Some of the fire safety topics covered during the visit included: Not to breathe smoke, smoke is dangerous; crawl low and stay under the smoke; and to establish a meeting place outside of the home with your family.
Students had the chance to see a smoke alarm and to hear what it sounds like. When the smoke alarm sounds, “get out and stay out,” presenters said.
When exiting a room, the firefighters said to check the door with the back of your hand, don’t touch if it is hot. Go to a window and if you can and exit the window safely. If you cannot get out of your window safely, stay low on the floor right by your window, don’t hide.
The firefighters encouraged the students to identify good things and bad things with regard to items in the home that may be fire hazards, such as candles.
Overturf gave the students a homework assignment — go home and talk with their parents to make sure that every floor of the house has a smoke detector. Once they find the detectors, they need to press the little button on the bottom or the side to test it to make sure the smoke detectors work. He also advised them to change the batteries twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring.
In an effort to keep contact with the community, Overturf also announced a fire truck coloring contest for area youths.