Shamong students learn about fire safety
This week is National Fire Prevention Week and students at Shamong Township schools learned all about how to prevent fires and what to do in case of one from their local fire company.
“This is a big activity that the Indian Mills Fire Company puts on for the schools and the students,” Nicole Moore, principal of Indian Mills School said.
The school and the fire company held an assembly to teach kids about fire prevention, fire safety and to familiarize them with their local fire company.
“What I like and what the kids really like is that the firefighters dress in their full regalia,” Moore said. “They put on their full uniform, oxygen tank, (and) mask, so that the students aren’t scared when they come to rescue. They wear the full $10,000 worth of equipment and it’s very heavy.”
Each year, the school has the teachers dress up and the students have a lot of fun with that.
“This year we had two teachers do it,” Moore said. “It’s kind of our way of indoctrinating the new teachers. The older children, they know about it. So they get really excited by it and they like it. The newbie on the block gets to dress up and the kids are very receptive to it.”
In addition to learning about the usual “stop, drop and roll, the students also familiarize themselves with the volunteers from the fire department. They also get to take a tour of a fire truck and an ambulance.
“It kind of alleviates any anxiety they have about fires,” Moore said. “After the assembly, some students got to see the fire truck and ambulance. Two fourth-grade students even got to sit behind the wheel. I sat behind the wheel also.”
This year, on the National Day of Remembrance to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9–11, the school collected $1 from everyone, totaling out to $376. They presented the check to the fire company last week.
“This year we wanted to talk to the students about how they can be better citizens,” Moore said. “The thing that I am most proud of in a little town like ours is the fact that all our firefighters are volunteers. They always find ways and time to take off from their full time jobs to help us out and do stuff like this.”
