Botsford Fire Rescue visited Middle Gate Elementary School on Thursday, October 10, to educate students on the importance of fire prevention. Throughout the day, teachers pulled students of all grades out of class and led them outside to the side of the school. Students were excited to see one of Botsford Fire Rescue’s large yellow fire trucks, several of the company’s firefighters, and even a miniature dollhouse that showed firefighters saving people and how smoke travels through a home.

The visit to Middle Gate also fell during Fire Prevention Week, a nationally observed week that encourages education on fire safety, which ran this year from Sunday, October 6 through Saturday, October 12.

Everyone sat on a tarp outside to listen to a presentation led by Botsford Fire Rescue Former Assistant Chief Bill McAllister, who also coordinates the company’s fire prevention program. The trip to Middle Gate is only one of Botsford Fire Rescue’s many visits to schools as part of its fire prevention program. According to McAllister, the company visits a lot of schools for the program, and teaches around 650 kids each year all about fire safety. He said Botsford Fire Rescue is entirely comprised of volunteers, and always looking for help. The program is another extension of the company’s goal, which is to keep the members of the community safe.

“That’s our most important goal today, to keep you and your family safe,” McAllister said to a group of Middle Gate fourth graders.

McAllister taught students various fire safety tips, such as what to do when the smoke detector goes off and the importance of having a special meeting place in case of a fire. He had students practice how to crawl to a door and test to see if the door feels hot. Students did this by slowly running the back of their hand along the door from the bottom up. McAllister said that if the door ever feels hot and they suspect there might be a fire, he told students to not touch the door knob since it will be hotter than the door. He also taught students to yell for help out of a window in case they cannot get out during a fire, having all of the students practice yelling for help together.

For each group, McAllister had teachers select four students to be special participants during the presentation. Each student got the chance to wear a Botsford Fire Rescue jacket and helmet and dress up as one of the company’s firefighters. For live participation, these specially selected students had to crawl on the floor to emulate staying safe from smoke during a fire. Middle Gate teachers and staff waved a big, black tarp to replicate the smoke, which the students crawled beneath to try to escape safely. Meanwhile, everyone else who sat on the sides were instructed by McAllister to say “beep, beep, beep” and mimic the sound of a smoke alarm going off.

Students even got to see the process of a firefighter getting into their gear, with all of the students clamoring around the firefighter to touch their uniform.

At the end of the presentation, McAllister encouraged students to talk with their family after school about what they learned today, and to check their smoke detector once a month. Botsford Fire Rescue even gave all the students a present: a little magnet that tells them what to do in case of a fire.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.