Question:
This year for Fire Prevention Week (October 9 - 14), our department will be going into to our local Elementary School (age 5 - 11) and maybe Middle School (age 11 - 13) to do some presentations on fire safety, etc. We would like to know if anyone has any great ideas, demos, or talks that work well with the kids

Answer: -Do you have access to a children's smoke house? If so this is always a hit w/ the elementry school ages. Plus it teaches the most valuable lesson there is, how to get out of a fire. Other than that try a poster or slogan contest for the kids and take an aerial tower to the school and give one of the teachers a ride in the bucket. This always makes the kids go wild.

-One thing our department does that has worked well in the past, especially for the younger group (pre-school-age 5), is to play "dress the fireman". You lay all of your gear on the floor in front of the class (including nomex, scba, etc.) and ask the tykes to help you "dress'. This activity, along with the right fire fighter being dressed, can get very fun for the kids. I can remember standing there on several occasions with my bunkers on backwards with kids screaming with laughter. The idea is to teach kids that "I'm the same person when I'm dressed up as when I'm not in my gear." A fully clad firefighter is very frightening to kids, especially with a mask, SCBA, and the "darth vader" sound of breathing air. Once fully "geared up", crawl amoung the children and let them touch you and shake your hand, etc. Caution: kids figure out very quickly that pounding on your helmet can be an enjoyable activity. . While dressed and circulating amounst the crowd, have your assistant explain to the kids that they shouldn't be afraid of "something that looks like that." Also, explain that if their in a fire, and hear the "darth vader" sound, to scream for help so that the fireman "bob" (insert name here) can find you. Upon completing that task, the kids then help "undress the fireman. Again,. the idea is to see that you are the same person you were before you put your gear on. Every department has someone that does especially well with kids. In our case, we believe that person operates on their level at all times Anyhow, just an idea. Let me know if you try it....and how it works.