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School kids try “Firefighter” on for size

   Written by on November 25, 2013 at 9:59 am

Last week, a group of lucky second graders from Prince Edward Elementary School visited the Hampden-Sydney Fire Department to learn valuable fire safety procedures. The field trip was set up over the course of two days, with half the students participating on Wednesday and the remainder on Thursday.

In addition to being able to tour the fire trucks and check out the cool equipment, volunteers set up a variety of stations for the students to visit. The EMS station provided students the chance to learn about what happens when first responders arrive on scene, while the hose station allowed use of the fire hose in a fun water drill. There was even an opportunity to look the part as the gear station let students to dress up in real turnout gear. However, perhaps the most exciting event of the morning was the smoke drill, where participants were thrown into a smoke-filled room and had to crawl their way out to safety.

“We wanted to have community involvement and educate students about fire safety,” said Jessica Draper, a second grade teacher at Prince Edward Elementary. Draper, who had the responsibility of putting the field trip together, grew up around the fire department and has been a member for almost eight months. Draper also commented that they wanted to “give them a chance to have a hand’s on experience that they wouldn’t normally get to have.”

 

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