Oxford Hills elementary schools across the district hosted local firefighters to share safety and prevention tips with students during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 5-11.
Guy E. Rowe School students ventured down the street Oct. 7 to the Norway Fire Department, which is home to possibly the only smoke simulator in the state that helps teach children about fire safety.
The simulator, dubbed the Smoke Trailer, is a teaching tool that gets lots of use during Fire Prevention Week, the annual program presented by the National Fire Protection Association.
“It’s just a small room we fill with artificial smoke to simulate what it would look like if a little kid woke up in the middle of the night, opens the door to their room and sees smoke in the house,” explained Ben Burgess, a volunteer firefighter who was at the station helping colleague Lucas Brett cycle kindergarteners from Guy E. Rowe School in and out of the simulator. “It’s good practice for them: they learn how to stay low and not panic. They get the idea of what it would be like to be in a fire and how to get out.”
Rowe students experienced the Smoke Trailer, toured the station, learned about the town’s fire trucks and pumps, and the gear firefighters use to do their jobs.
Burgess said over the last several days the Fire Trailer had visited other towns in Oxford and Androscoggin counties and was scheduled to head to Waterville later in the week.
The Fire Trailer is shared by a number of Oxford Hills fire departments. It was built about 10 years ago by volunteers, with the assistance of about a dozen local businesses.
The smoke is produced by a vaporizer and completely safe to breathe, Burgess said. It heats liquid to a boiling point and a fan pushes the smoke out.
“Travis Brennan came Tuesday to teach fire safety to our students,” Hebron Station School Principal Jill Bartash shared. “He showed students his firefighting gear and what to know to get out safely in the event of a fire. He also gave them homework to share with their families to make sure they have a family meeting spot and working smoke detectors.”
A rainy Oct. 8 kept the kids indoors and away from experiencing the fire trucks but did not dampen their enthusiasm when firefighters brought their lessons inside the schools.
“Even with a very rainy day, it was an excellent time to practice drills and evacuations,” Otisfield Community School Principal Jessika Sheldrick said. “I am very proud of our students and thankful that the fire department came to teach them the necessary information they might need. The fire department’s dedication to educating students is so valued and appreciated.”
Third grade students at Oxford Elementary School learned about new fire precautions, like device battery safety, and the old school adage to “stop, drop and roll” if they come into contact with fire and have to protect themselves from injury. Kids were able to ask specific questions, like what to do if they could not open a door during a fire or how to evacuate pets.
“And one student had a big moment, when the firefighter displaying the gear they wear helped her overcome her fear of masks,” one teacher said. “He kept his distance when told it would make her nervous, but watching him interact with her classmates inspired her to ask him for a high-five before the presentation ended.”
