Middle School Students Learn About Fire Safety

By Larissa Lytwyn

Students in Newtown Middle School’s Kids in Charge (KIC) Club, created by school faculty with the intent of teaching students how to keep themselves and each other safe, recently learned first-hand what it was like to be in a fire.

After being taught basic fire safety skills, including the importance of staying close to the floor when crawling through an area filled with smoke and fire, students tested their new knowledge through a literal “trial by fire.”

Using a haze machine, firefighters from Newtown Hook and Ladder Company filled a classroom with “smoke.” The classroom used was the only one in the building that had its smoke alarm located in the hallway just outside its entrance.

Black garbage bags were used to prevent “smoke” from seeping under the door cracks.

Students scrambled through the room on their hands and knees, struggling to see through the “smoke’s” thick white veil.

As they reached the emergency exit, each student gave a firefighter a triumphant high-five before breaking into the sunshine.

“It was like being in heaven,” mused KIC member Jillian Pratt.

Students learned why it was so crucial to keep low to the floor.

“It’s the best way to avoid the heat and get more oxygen,” explained firefighter Don Roos.

Firefighter Bob Nute described how each fire safety program was tailored to a specific age group. “Older students can gain a more sophisticated idea of what they need to do to keep safe,” he said.

He said the KIC members were especially engaging. “They asked a lot of questions,” he noted approvingly, adding, with a laugh, “It’s definitely a good thing when they ask questions! It makes the [lesson] much more fulfilling.”

In his years of firefighting, he continued, public awareness about fire safety has grown in recent times, coupled with advances in technology that equip buildings with smoke detectors and fire alarms.

“Back in the 1970s,” said Mr Nute, “the firefighters were out several times a week. Now it’s a few times every few months.”

After crawling through the “smoke”-filled classroom, the KIC members had the opportunity to tour a Newtown Hook and Ladder Company aerial engine with firefighter Ray Corbo.

Students learned the difference between aerial engines, equipped with long, tree-grazing ladders, and “pumpers,” predominantly outfitted in thick, long hoses.

They also learned about different tools used to break apart scaffolding.

“We try to do the best we can to keep the fire centered in just one part of the home,” said Mr Corbo. “We don’t want to do any more damage than what it is already being done.” In addition, Mr Corbo showed students the various kinds of protective gear firefighters wear as well as equipment fire victims can use, particularly when they have been asphyxiated with smoke.

Such equipment included air-pumping masks.

“The mask does not have pure oxygen,” Mr Corbo said, marking the common misnomer of “oxygen” masks. “Obviously, we can’t live on pure oxygen alone. We need a mix of fresh, clean air. This is what the mask provides.”

Jillian, whose grandfather is a retired firefighter, said it was interesting to learn about fire safety.

“There’s a lot involved,” she said. “More than [one] would think!”