ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Elementary school students from the Altoona Area School District (AASD) learned about fire safety on Tuesday for Fire Prevention Month.
Firefighters from Logan Township United and the City of Altoona Fire Departments visited schools in the area to raise awareness on fire safety.
“These children at the elementary school age are very impressionable. We want to get them young, teach them the fire safety message that we have, so that they could carry that throughout their lives,” Rusty Shoenfelt, Fire Chief of the Logan Township United Fire Department, said.
Students learned about fire engines and equipment that are used during a fire. They also had the chance to participate in lessons given inside the Mobile Fire Safety Center.
The Safety Center simulates kitchen safety and students learned how to get out of a smoke-filled bedroom.
Firefighters taught students to have a meeting point, so in the event of a fire, everyone is accounted for.
“[My family doesn’t] have a meeting place, but we’re going to talk about having a meeting place if our house caught on fire,” Peyton Zeigler, a Second Grader said.
The elementary students also had the opportunity to see a firefighter gear up.
“We also have a firefighter dress up in the gear that we wear to protect us in a fire. Our goal behind that is to make sure the children have seen this before and are not afraid of somebody that looks like that, should they ever have to come into their bedroom in the middle of the night during a fire. They’ll know it’s somebody that’s there to help,” Shoenfelt said.
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The Logan Township United and Altoona Fire Departments will visit the following schools in the AASD for the remainder of October:
- October 11 – Baker Elementary
- October 17 – Juniata Elementary
- October 18 – Juniata Gap Elementary
- October 19 – Logan Elementary
“The education that we’re providing will work for anywhere. We use an example of the escape from the fire safety house, but it could just as easily be their school,” he said.
Educational materials are given out at the end of the lesson so children can commit to memory what they learned.
