“You can replace those things, but you can’t replace yourself!” a little girl said confidently in a brightly decorated Beecher Elementary School classroom, indicating she understood why she couldn’t stay in a burning building or run back in to look for a favorite toy or even a beloved pet.
The Beecher Fire Protection District has just completed its six-month Learn Not to Burn program – a first for the district – aimed at teaching its students simple skills that could save their lives.
Each month, Beecher Fire’s Lt. Carm Welsh visited the school with a couple of firefighters or firefighter candidates in tow to observe and assist. She would teach something new each lesson, like identifying what a smoke alarm is and what it sounds like, or seeing a firefighter in full gear, which could add extra stress to a child already scared in an emergency if they’d never seen one before.
The Learn Not to Burn fire safety videos originally were created in the 1970s, with Dick Van Dyke as the celebrity spokesman. While the technique is now a little outdated, the program’s goal has remained largely unchanged – giving people, especially kids, information that could help them.
“Want to know how many fires there were last year? Want to know how many people got burned?” VanDyke started off in the 1975 video, now available on YouTube.
“You don’t? I don’t either. What good are statistics going to do you in a fire?” he asked in the five-minute video.
Today’s program standards are higher than sitting the children in front of a video, and Welsh has elevated the program to meet them.
Welsh took an existing program curriculum and added to it after initially fearing it might be six months of “stop-drop-and-roll” training that would bore students. She added elements of humor, like story time about a fire hydrant with an important job, show-and-tell, and fun learning.
“This has been amazing. They hear me teach all the time, so it’s much more powerful coming from actual firefighters – the kids really listen,” first-grade teacher Mary Baxter said of the program.
“They have really retained a lot of what they learned, and it’s been very age-appropriate,” Baxter added.
Though the program dates back to the 1970s, the brand-new program for Beecher schools began just this year, after Beecher Fire Chief Joe Falaschetti inquired about starting it at the elementary school. Principal Nicole Black gave the go-ahead.
“They kept wanting more; it was the best thing,” Welsh said.
During one lesson, Firefighter/EMT Anthony Tieri, affectionately nicknamed “Tony Donuts,” showed the kids just how different his voice could sound with a respirator on, the noises it makes, and how differently he looked with each piece of equipment.
The kids watched with wide eyes as he added each part of his gear, transforming into a larger-than-life character who “sounds a little like Darth Vader.” At each step, Lt. Welsh explained what each part of his gear was, how it protected him, and how it all worked. They took it all in, moving from fear to acceptance.
“Do we still know it’s Tony Donuts in there, and he’s there to help us?” Lt. Welsh asked the kids, who answered with a resounding “YES!”
At the beginning of each lesson, Lt. Welsh would review what the kids had learned, gauge how much they were retaining, and give a recap. They typically retained what she taught.
“How many of you are sleeping with your doors closed?” she would ask, some replying they’re not scared to have it closed all the way, while others said they were working on it, showing with tiny hands the crack they’re currently leaving open as they move towards being confident to have it closed all the way.
Closed doors help stop the spread of a fire and limit the smoke and heat that would otherwise quickly engulf a room. If a fire breaks out while people are asleep with closed doors, they have more time to escape – a valuable thing when seconds count.
During the program, kids learned how to call 9-1-1 and what information they needed to know, like their home address.
Another important skill taught is making sure the family has a plan for where to meet after escaping a fire. When a fire breaks out, they learn and understand that sometimes it’s not possible to meet and exit together.
Welsh taught the kids what to do if there’s a fire: get out fast and to the family meeting safe place – and don’t go back in, not for toys, not for pets, not for anything. The firefighters should be the only ones allowed inside when there’s a fire.
When Welsh asked the kids where their meeting spot was, some responded that it was their barn or the mailbox, and others said they’d meet in the backyard – but the good thing was that most of them had a spot they knew where they could meet.
Certainly, Welsh’s prior professional training as an educator was on full display.
“My favorite part is that we tap into every type of learner, from the watcher to the physical learner, the kid who needs to be moving all the time. They get to see the fire guys are all the same type of learner, and it’s an option for them,” Welsh said of the program inspiring the kids.
“They’re connecting with us. I had a second grader who asked us to tell him how a fire pump worked, like the engineering of it! It’s mind-blowing how much they’re taking in,” Welsh noted.
The teachers agreed.
“The Learn Not to Burn program has been something my class looked forward to each month. I loved how the program was age-appropriate, and Lt. Welsh was amazing with the kids,” second-grade teacher Julia Galgan said of the program.
The knowledge the kids are gaining isn’t the only benefit of the program. They’re also able to identify potential areas of need among students and help them.
“And we learn a lot about them, too. If a child tells us they don’t have a door, or ‘we don’t have smoke alarms,’ we can tap into resources to help them and make them safer,” Welsh added.
Welsh said the support they’ve received from the school and, especially the teachers, has been incredible.
“They’re willing to give up a half hour of their time to give into the chaos we bring,” Welsh joked before adding, “The teachers are so helpful and, with this being our first time not knowing what we’d bring, the support is invaluable.”
Welsh isn’t wrong; there is a bit of controlled chaos as the kids get very excited when the firefighters come to their classroom, especially when Sparky, the Fire Dog, makes an appearance.
“It’s an amazing program, and I love that it was spread out over six months. The kids clearly have enjoyed their time, and it ending with Sparky coming is the icing on the cake,” Mary Baxter said.
Overall, the program not only put smiles on the kids’ faces but also gave them skills to stay safe in an emergency – a major success for its inaugural year.
Scroll for more pics and captions. Use whatever you’d like.