Students at the Humboldt Elementary school had a visit from the Humboldt Fire and Ambulance firefighters to teach them about fire safety tips during Fire Prevention Week. (Photo/Submitted)

Sara Stadem | Editor

The tradition of traveling to the Humboldt Fire and Ambulance to learn about Fire Prevention Week continued on this year with the Becker’s Bright Beginnings Preschool (BBBP), according to owner Amy Becker.
Fire Prevention Week was October 3-9 and Becker explained this is a field trip that her daycare has been doing for 20 years, taking the preschool and older toddler groups.
“They were super excited to sit in the fire truck and hear the sirens!” Becker said. She continued, “They also loved the firefighter’s suit, mask, tank and hat.”
According to Humboldt Firefighter Pat Kaffar, when BBBP first arrived, he showed the daycare kids around the fire station. “We looked over the trucks and talked about the different trucks that are there, what each truck does, as far as hauling water or putting out grass fires or a truck going to a structure fire to pump water,” Kaffar said.
After that, Kaffar explained he took the kids around the engine and opened up the compartments, showed them the different tools that the firefighters use, what they are used for and finished it off with some fire prevention information. “You know, the whole stop, drop and roll kind of information,” Kaffar said. “They were pretty young kids so we kept it pretty basic and talked about having a plan if there is a fire and what to do if the smoke detector went off.”
Becker added after learning what the tools did, her daycare kids were also able to hold many tools for each emergency situation. “They also learned that firefighters are their friends and want to help,” Becker explained. She continued, “The kids were most intrigued with the infrared light that showed where people might be in a heavy smoked filled and dark building.”
When asked what is a highlight of this field trip, Kaffar said, “One thing I find really cool is that I see them as the daycare kids but as they get older, I will see them up at the school and year after year, they start to remember things.” He continued, “Little bits and pieces here and there, they remember. So, that’s pretty cool seeing it from the daycare when they are super young through fifth grade.”
“Thank you, Firefighter Pat Kaffar, for taking the time to help us learn more about fire safety,” Becker concluded.
Kaffar explained the Humboldt Fire and Ambulance, himself and three others, also went to the Humboldt grade school on Monday, October 4, to discuss Fire Prevention Week.
All students, grades kindergarten through fifth grade, were able to be part of the education about Fire Prevention Week. Kaffar explained they started talking with students at 9 am and continued until 2 pm.
The county has a fire prevention trailer that can have fake smoke in it, according to Kaffar, and they were able to bring that to the school as part of the learning experience for the students.
“We spoke to the kids about fire safety tips, having a plan, making sure everyone gets out and having a meeting place,” Kaffar said. He continued, “We talked to them about making sure they don’t go back in for anyone else or pets, things like that.”
Kaffar explained they also spoke with the students about how to prevent a fire, not playing with matches and staying away from pans on the stove, especially when the handle is over the edge.
“The last half of the training we used the trailer with the fake smoke and we had them crawl under the smoke to teach them how to do that, to feel for the door and to be able to check to see if the door is hot, things like that,” Kaffar said.
Kaffar said, “The most fun there is opening the door, the trailer is split in half with a front and a back half. So, when they get to open the door and see the fake smoke, to crawl under it, they all get a kick out of seeing something like that and it was fun to see.” He concluded, “They get out of their classroom to learn something so that was fun for them. Seeing the excitement they had with this to learn about it was pretty cool.”