Preschoolers excited to learn about fire safety

By Kevin Smetana
Morning News

Published: October 6, 2008

No age is too young to begin learning about fire safety, and that’s exactly how 27 Florence Family YMCA preschool children spent part of their day Monday.

The group of 3- and-4-year-olds toured the Florence Fire Station 1 on East Palmetto Street to participate in national Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 5-11.

“They were very excited to come,” said Mary Howell, Florence Family YMCA preschool director.

During their hour-long visit at the fire station, the children took turns crawling through a fire truck before watching an instructional video filled with safety tips.

One of the most important things for preschool children to know about fires, the firefighters giving the tour said, is to immediately get out of the burning building and not worry about items left behind.

“Kids have important things to them, like toys,” firefighter Sheldon Spann said. “And a lot of them may have the urge to go back inside the fire.”

It’s also important for children that age to not be afraid of firefighters, despite the intimidating gear they wear. So, at the end of the tour, firefighter Bryan Molina put on his gear and let the kids gather around him while he talked with them and shook their hands.

“It’s very scary to small children to hear the voices muffled inside the masks,” Molina said. “And we want to show them that we’re just normal people like they are.”

The main points delivered to the children during the trip were to never touch matches or lighters, be aware of smoke detectors in their homes and call 911 after exiting a burning building.

Howell said the preschool class is spending time every day this month on fire safety.

“Even as young as they are, I think they realize it’s a really dangerous thing,” she said.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Prevent Home Fires,” focuses on preventing all the leading causes of home fires – cooking, heating and electrical equipment, and smoking materials.