GALION, Ohio — Elementary school children are naturally focused on firemen, their bright helmets, loads of equipment, and shiny red trucks.
All those items were part of the Galion Fire Department’s program on Thursday when they visited youngsters as part of the National Fire Protection Association’s week of fire prevention.
Firemen visited kindergarten through second-grade children Thursday to instill fire safety rules. Understatement of the day: the children were receptive.
The day began when Capt. Ric Biglin treated the children to a 10-minute video featuring Timon and Pumbaa from Lion King. Next, Biglin facilitated a discussion talking about education as the key to fire safety.
“The more knowledge they have, the more training they have as far as knowing what to do in the event of a fire is … well, if we save one life, it’s well worth our time to be here,” Biglin said.
The students were enthused to hear instructions for the next activity: gather in groups to walk through a “smoke house” and see the fire truck and EMT truck.
The smoke house, a trailer that simulates a house caught on fire, belongs to the Galion Fire Department. It teaches the children to stay low to the floor — because smoke rises — as they seek the nearest exit.
Eyes widened and heads tilted up as Capt. Biglin showed the second graders the tools of the trade, which were attached to one of the department’s trucks.
Teacher Tammy Erlsten was impressed by the demonstration.
“But I’m old,” Erlsten said with a laugh. “I think we visited the firehouse but we didn’t have anything like this smoke house where the kids actually got to simulate being in a fire situation.”
Erlsten teaches fire safety tips in her classroom in addition to the fire department’s visit.
“Especially calling 9-1-1 and staying low in smoke, and stop, drop and roll,” Erlsten said.
Connecting with the community is a big part of what the fire department does, Biglin said.
“We care about the community and this is who we deal with on a day-to-day basis so it’s very important that we have a relationship with the young kids,” Biglin said.
“Some of these kids will grow up to be firefighters for us, you know?” Biglin noted. “You see that kid over there has a fire rescue shirt on. And he’s a second grader, so he’s already starting to think about it.”
