AUBURN – For the rest of the week, freshman Chris Rioux should be studying fonts and page design.

But Tuesday, the Central Maine Community College student and the rest of his class got to play firefighter.

“I guess it’s good,” Rioux said. “It’s all about safety and going over what to do. It’s good stuff to know.”

The students are members of Terry Brann’s offset printing class, a part of the school’s graphic design associate degree program. They meet twice a week to learn the physical side of graphic design – using a printing press properly and not getting hands and fingers caught in the machinery. The first month or so, Brann said he focuses almost exclusively on safety.

“I have all my fingers, and I don’t see any reason why these kids should be any different,” Brann said.

The most spectacular part of the safety section is the annual fire demonstration. Students are trained to recognize the most common types of fires and the best fire extinguisher to put it out. It’s important for the students, who could come into contact with a variety of printing chemicals and solvents.

“Using the wrong extinguisher for a fire, you’re better off closing the door and calling 911,” Auburn Fire Lt. Mike Minkowsky said. “It’s like putting water on a grease fire – it just makes it spread.”

Students spent the first hour Tuesday morning in the classroom, learning to tell a Class A paper fire from a Class B gasoline fire. Then, they moved to the college’s lawn, where Auburn firefighters ignited a variety of blazes. The students identified the type of flames and then selected an extinguisher to put it out.

“This is better, because they get to see how the extinguisher feels,” Minkowsky said. “They get to see how it reacts, and what the fire does.”

Minkowsky said the Fire Department regularly provides extinguisher training classes for Auburn nonprofits.

“But not to this extent,” he said. “We might give them a cinder block to aim the fire extinguisher, not live fires. This is a treat.”