Seeing the bright red fire trucks parked in front of the school, meeting firefighters and watching them don their gear makes Fire Prevention Week an exciting experience for students. Folded around the fun of stepping aboard the fascinating trucks are important fire safety lessons, delivered by local heroes—the fire fighters that serve each school’s families.
Fire Prevention Week kicked off with Vista Fire Department’s pumper truck pulling up to Meadow Pond Elementary School. Decades of knowledge came with the truck: District Manager Tom Ritchey, a proud Meadow Pond graduate who has served with the Vista Fire District for over 40 years, and Vista Fire Department’s President, Lieutenant Daniel Castelhano, a proud Meadow Pond parent.
The two fire fighters led age-appropriate discussions and activities at the Pond over the course of a week. What to do if you see or smell smoke, the importance of a family meeting place in the event of a fire emergency, and how to use 911 were reinforced with all students. A highlight for the school’s fifth graders is entering a room filled with non-hazardous smoke, crawling to the window and climbing out.
At the pumper truck, Diana Mikelis’s first grade students were full of questions.
Why are the hoses different colors? You can’t always see the firefighter at the other end of the hose. If they want the water turned up or off, they can call it by color.
Why do you have a chain saw? We might need to cut our way into a building or remove hazardous trees.
How big are these tires? As big as a first grader!