Fire prevention at Seymour Smith

PINE PLAINS — Students at Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center brushed up on their fire safety awareness during Fire Prevention Day on Wednesday, May 29.

Around 9:15 a.m., each class was instructed to organize into a line before exiting their classrooms and heading to the front lawn. Spreading out over the  lawn, members and volunteers from the Pine Plains, Milan and Stanfordville fire departments arranged fire prevention activities that were as informational as they were interactive, from a classroom activity that tested student knowledge on fire safety to an exploration of the fire engines and other vehicles that were parked along the sidewalk.

Each student was given a chance to climb aboard one of the fire engines from the Pine Plains Fire Department for a brief exploration. Pine Plains Fire Department Capt. Steven Camburn gave each class a tour of the equipment used to extinguish fires and handle emergency situations. He also led students to the fire brush truck and utility task vehicle (UTV) and talked about how both are used in emergency situations.

Noting the various fire agencies work together to serve the broader community, Camburn said, “We’re one big agency: not only do we volunteer but we can call other agencies to come help us.”

For the program’s classroom component, one of the firefighters put on gear to help the students familiarize themselves with the firefighters and their full apparatus so they would be less afraid in the case of an emergency.

At the popular fog house simulation, students were quizzed on what steps they should take in case of a fire. Mike Cooper from the Pine Plains fire department recommended students make sure that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in their homes. Crouching down by one of the fog house doors, he advised the students that, in the event of a fire, they stay low to the ground and crawl underneath the smoke to safety. Along with fielding questions about fire safety, he suggested they practice these precautions at home with their families.

As white fog that simulated smoke drifted out, students lined up on one side of the house and prepared themselves for the simulation. With a firefighter placed inside the structure to give students pointers for their exit, students were instructed to stop, drop, cover their face and roll.

Having gone through the Fire Prevention Day program back when he was a student in the Pine Plains Central School District, Cooper said, “I think it’s really important to teach the kids this stuff when they are young. I think part of this is really important because it’s a practical thing for them to use to help others.”

“Prevention is key,” said Pine Plains Fire Rescue Squad member Michael Hill about the Fire Prevention Day program. “Part of our job is prevention and it starts young. If we can teach the kids early on, it’s worth it.”

As a token of participation in the Fire Prevention Day program, each student received a free fire hat, a water bottle and a pencil sharpener before returning to their regular schedules.