Fire prevention program saves lives
“Stop, drop and roll” is the common phrase children memorize in the case of a fire emergency, but the Russellville Fire Department works hard every year to make sure children learn more than just that.
As a part of honoring October as fire safety month, the RFD makes the effort to go to every school in Franklin County and teach the students about fire safety.
“If we teach them when they’re young, hopefully they’ll keep it when they’re older,” Capt. Randy Seal said.
Part of that teaching involves a firefighter talking to the children, one classroom at a time, about common fire safety tips, like maintaining operational smoke detectors in the house and what to do if they find themselves inside a building that is on fire.
At West Elementary School, firefighter Lt. Jeremy Glenn talked to Libby Scruggs’ first-graders about important fire safety measures like designating a meeting place away from the home and how to determine if a door is safe to go through in the event of a fire.
“Use the back of your hand to feel the door, and if it’s hot, don’t go through it. And don’t ever grab the doorknob. It’s metal and can burn you,” he warned.
After that, Glenn played a fun instructional video for the students that involved Sparky the fire safety dog. Sparky even made a special visit to the school and took pictures with the students.
Glenn then took the class through the fire trailer, which is set up like a house inside, where he taught them about safety measures like not putting metal in the microwave and not leaving paper by the fireplace. At the end of the walk through the trailer, the children have to put into practice what they learned and get low beneath the smoke, touch the door to determine if they can go back through it and then climb out the window and down the escape ladder.
“After 25 years on the job, I’ve physically seen this program work. I’ve seen kids use what they have learned, and it has saved lives,” Fire Chief Joe Mansell said.
And while the children are learning, they are also having fun. The lesson ended with firefighter Grant Tarascou giving the students a tour of one of the fire engines and explaining to them the function of a lot of the equipment and tools.
“They love it when the fire department comes every year. They love getting to meet them, and the firemen are so good with them,” Scruggs said.
