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LIFE SAFETY HOUSE: The Life House is a mobile teaching tool used to make safety education more realistic for children.
The Safety House is an actual “structure” where children learn about home safety in a realistic setting. The Safety House has a living room, kitchen and bedroom. The Safety House uses a non-toxic smoke to simulate an actual fire situation. The bedroom door has a heating element, which can make it warm to the touch. The bedroom also has a window and escape ladder that students learn to use if the primary exist is blocked. Children are taught vital lessons such as “Crawl Low in Smoke”, “Have Home Escape Plan and Practice it”, “How to Make an Emergency Call”, and “How to Handle a Burn” and many other safety tips.
The 32-foot mobile classroom is provided to local fire departments every two years compliments of the Fire Safety Educators of Colorado.
FIRE EXPERIMENTS: With the summer’s wildfire tragedies on the front range and our own county under a fire ban for much of the summer, it seemed a natural fit to discuss wildfire prevention during Fire Prevention Week.
The volunteer firefighters explored with the students fire as a natural element in our environment. The students became familiar with the concept of the fire triangle and an understanding of how each relates to fire in any setting, and to recognize that fire management is a process of control over each of the three aspects of the fire triangle.
The students learned how to create a 30 foot defensible space around their homes by removing fuels i.e. trees, shrubs, bushes, and wood piles. It was also stressed to the students the importance of clear and proper placement of their addresses.
The students also had a chance to become familiar with the tools, protective clothing and equipment used in both wild land and structural firefighting. The students experienced much of the physical ability test that the volunteer firefighters are expected to complete each year.
The “Fire Experiments” portion of Fire Prevention Week activities centered around a better understanding of wildfire and the danger that exists in our community.
PUPPET SHOW: The “Puppet Show” was performed by the volunteer firefighters for all 1st and 3rd graders. The show stressed the importance of home safety covering the topics of “Smoke Detectors”, “Extension Cords”, “Escape Plan”, “Family Meeting Place”. “911”, and “Stop, Drop, and Roll”.
The show placed an emphasis on personal safety and learning the safe things to do when faced with a fire or hazardous situation. The puppet show conveyed the importance of learning to become a responsible citizen in an effort to keep our community safe.
VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS PARTICIPATING IN FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
Simon O’Farrell, Michael Arce, Shawn Zwak, Paul Yonekawa, Tyler Whitmore, Sparky Truax, Scott Ryan, Dave Reitz, Jeanne Power, Jason Sawin, Brian Shively, Bart Brown, Tenadore Dean, Doug Warner, Joe Packard, and Andrew Anderson
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EVENT:
|
PUPPET
SHOW
|
SAFE HOUSE
TOURS
|
FIRE
EXPERIMENTS
|
TOTAL
|
|
Soda Creek Elementary
|
126
|
106 |
154 |
386 |
|
Strawberry Park Elementary
|
144 |
119 |
166 |
429 |
|
Middle School
|
N/A |
N/A |
309 |
309 |
|
Whitman Primary
|
N/A |
30 |
N/A |
30 |
|
Christian Heritage
|
37 |
33 |
N/A |
70 |
|
Grandkids Preschool
|
N/A |
24 |
N/A |
24 |
|
Kinderhaus Preschool
|
N/A |
28 |
N/A |
28 |
|
Laurel Street Preschool
|
N/A |
20 |
N/A |
20 |
|
Holy Name Preschool
|
N/A |
20 |
N/A |
20 |
|
Discovery Learning Center
|
N/A |
27 |
N/A |
27 |
|
Kids Kabin
|
N/A |
15 |
N/A |
15 |
|
|
N/A |
13 |
N/A |
13 |
|
|
307 |
435 |
628 |
1371 |
|
|
|
