Kittanning Preschoolers Learn Fire Safety
by David Croyle
Nine girls from the afternoon session of Rainbow Road Preschool learned fire safety from volunteers of Hose Company #4.
Barb Gaughan has been director of the preschool for over 25 years.
“The main thing Mike (Swartz) wants them to learn is, if there is a fire, they need to get out of the house and stay out. And also the stop, drop, and roll if their clothes would catch on fire, which is something we can practice here.”
Gaughan said it is natural for the children at that age to be afraid of someone dressed up in a complete fire suit that often resembles a monster in their minds.
“This goes a long way to make them realize that fire fighters are their friends and they don’t need to be afraid - that they are there to help them.”
Four-year-old Callie Adkins could tell her classmates and teachers what the thing that makes noise near the ceiling is called: “(An) alarm! (You) push it and see if it works!”
And if it doesn’t work, she knows how to fix it!
“Change a new battery!” she said confidently.
Hose Company #4 Chief Earl “Buzz” Kline said their company conducts programs throughout the area during October as part of the National Fire Prevention Month emphasis.
“We do it every year for the students. It’s very important to get them safety oriented early, because in future years, it may save their lives.”
Kline said that this is a direct use of the $250 Kittanning Borough gives to the company annually for fire prevention education.
“This is what we use the Borough’s contribution to the fire prevention committee to purchase fire hats for these students and literature that we pass out to them.”
Kline, who has been in fire prevention for the past 40 years, said that the effort has paid off.
“I can personally say that here in Kittanning, I have seen a tremendous drop in fires started by children and fire deaths because of the fact we are educating them young and it is something that sticks with them.”
Kline, who is also with the Armstrong County Firemen’s Association, said the initiative is not just in Kittanning.
“We recently did the second grade county-wide to make sure every second-grader had a book through the Firemen’s Association. The whole county contributed very generously. We were able to cover every second grader in Armstrong County with a fire prevention book. This is a seed planted for the pre-school, and the second graders seem to be the group that grasp onto the real meaning of what we are putting across. If we can touch one life and save it, the whole program is well worth it.”
Rainbow Road Preschool is a ministry of the First United Methodist Church in Kittanning. Gaughan said there are spaces for several more children in both their morning and afternoon classes. Applications are available at the church office at 301 North Jefferson Street or on their website at www.firstchurchkittanning.com. To inquire, call the office at 724-548-4312.
Kittanning Hose Company #4 Second Assistant Fire Chief Mike Swartz gets down on the floor at Rainbow Road Preschool to teach children to not be afraid of a fireman in full uniform. He also taught them to crawl out of their homes if there is smoke in their rooms.
Local News | David Croyle October 26, 2015
No Comments
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
