In the spirit of National Fire Prevention Week, Matt Wenzl, Melody Billings and Sam Ackerman with the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department met with students ranging from preschool to fifth grade. During the 30-minute sessions, the three firefighters taught kids about smoke alarms and fire plans.
The Monday and Tuesday classes on Oct. 7 and 8 included information about how often batteries should be replaced in smoke alarms, as well as how often they should be tested and where they should be installed in a home. They also instructed the kids to create plans with their parents or guardians as to where they should stand and wait outside, should a fire break out. The students were then given a chance to guess how long it took a firefighter to put all their gear on, which turned out to take Billings around 25 seconds. They were then taken through the fire hall office on their hands and knees, and bellies, as they tried to manuever and avoid a smoke filled room. When they finished the course, they were quizzed on the information they’d be told, and, after a picture with the resident training dummy, the classes were gifted pillows or bags of things like pencils and nighttime reflector badges. Wenzl expressed his appreciation to the businesses around Auburn who donated to support the Fire Pup Program, that they really helped make the saftey sessions worthwhile for the kids.
