By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

NORWAY – You can’t expect 5- and 6-year-olds to pay much attention when you take them outside and show them a “bounce house” that looks like a giant Dalmatian.

When asked if they learned anything important during Fire Safety Day on Thursday at Otisfield Community School, the kindergartners stared straight ahead at the giant inflatable dog and nodded their heads, sort of, without saying a word.

But before they could jump into the bounce house, they had to demonstrate to Otisfield Assistant Fire Chief Rick Ouellette that they understood what to do if a piece of clothing ever catches fire.

“Stop, drop and roll,” Ouellette instructed each child one by one. “Stop, drop and roll.” They all obeyed. Then it was time for fun in the giant Dalmatian, a new addition to this year’s event.

Students from the other grades followed behind, each practicing the stop, drop and roll technique. Some of the older students said they’d absorbed some important lessons from Otisfield firefighters, who visited their classrooms before bringing them outside.

“I learned that fire alarms and extinguishers aren’t toys and stuff to be fooled around with,” said sixth-grader Jacob Kelly.

Fire Safety Day is held annually at the school to coincide with Fire Prevention Week, sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association, based in Quincy, Mass.

This week is the Fire Prevention Week. It was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which killed more than 250 people. According to popular legend, the fire started after a cow belonging to Mrs. Catherine O’Leary kicked over a lamp and started a barn fire that spread to the whole city.

Otisfield firefighter Kyle Jordan spoke in the school gymnasium to the littlest attendees, children from Mayberry Hill Pre-School in Casco and The Zoo day care in Otisfield, which were invited this year to participate in Fire Safety Day at the community school.

“Don’t ever play with matches,” he told the group of youngsters. Pick a family “meeting place” in case of a fire, he said. “If there’s a fire, get out and go to your meeting place.”

Although it may be challenging to hold the interest of youngsters with short attention spans, Jordan said it’s crucial to impart fire safety at an early age.

“I don’t think you can ever start too young with this,” said Jordan, who has a daughter in third grade at the community school and a 4-year-old daughter at Mayberry Hill.

Students also were given packets that included coloring books filled with messages about fire safety, stickers for their bedroom windows so firefighters can identify those as children’s rooms, and 911 tags to place next to a home telephone.

The school’s 22 kindergarten students also each received a gift certificate for a smoke detector. The gift certificates were donated by Aubuchon Hardware in Norway.