Firefighter writes book to teach fire safety
RUSSELLVILLE — When firefighter Alejandro Wallace’s now three-year-old daughter, Aurora, began asking questions about fire safety, he wanted a way to teach her lessons that could one day save her life while also helping other children.
Inspired by his daughter’s curiosity, and a family tradition of reading bedtime stories, Wallace wrote “A Day at the Fire Station with Dad.”
In the book, Aurora and her younger brother, oneyear-old Asher, appear as his children. They visit their father’s fire station and learn what to do in an emergency.
Wallace, who has served with the Russellville Fire Department for five years, said teaching fire safety during school visits helped inspire him to write the story.
He said from the first concept to holding the finished book in his hands took about two years.
One of the biggest challenges, Wallace said, was choosing words young children could understand.
He wrote the story and outlined each page before working with his wife, Caitlin, to develop the illustrations.
Drawing on her background in computer science and graphic design, Caitlin created the artwork digitally, making this the first children’s book she has illustrated.
“She’s been there since the beginning of it by my side the whole time,” Alejandro said. “There were times when I was getting stressed, and she just kept pushing me to finish it and showing me different ideas. She played a really big part in this.”
Caitlin said seeing the finished book in print after watching her husband’s longtime goal become reality felt surreal. She said Aurora was excited from the moment the book arrived and now proudly calls it “mine and Daddy’s book.”
Asher, she said, points to the illustrated firefighter and says, “Dada.”
Wallace said including his children in the story made the project especially meaningful.
He said the book teaches children that fire is a tool, not a toy, and covers recognizing the sound of a smoke alarm, crawling beneath smoke, “Stop, drop and roll,” choosing a family meeting place, calling 911 and getting out of a burning home and staying out.
“I know we can look scary in our gear,” Wallace said. “But we want to get you out. We want to help you.”
At home, the Wallaces have taught Aurora what smoke alarms sound like; where to go after getting outside safely; and how to call out to firefighters if she sees them. They have also chosen a designated meeting place.
Wallace said a good family meeting place should be far enough from a fire to be safe; be easy for children to reach; and be somewhere firefighters or neighbors can quickly find them.
Wallace said picture books help hold young children’s attention and encourage them to ask questions.
Written for children ages three to eight, the book is available through Amazon.
Wallace said he hopes to read the book during school visits and other educational programs. He said he is already planning more books with each new book focusing on a different lesson.
Wallace said he hopes parents will use the book as another tool to teach fire safety at home.
“You can never teach children enough about fire safety, or safety in general,” Wallace said. “They’ll go home, and they’ll tell their parents and help reinforce safety measures.”
He said helping children is more important than selling books.
“If this just helps one kid, that means more than anything else in the world.”
