First-hand fire safety at RCES

Last week, preschoolers and kindergarteners at Rappahannock County Elementary School were thrilled to welcome several community members from the volunteer fire departments of Chester Gap and Sperryville. Appearing at RCES as part of National Fire Prevention Week, the community volunteers gave a safety talk and demonstration to their rapt student audience.

The focus of the discussion and demonstrations was fire safety and prevention, to give younger students safety tips on what to do in case of a fire. While the schools practice fire drills and other safety precautions on a regular basis with students, those instructions are limited to the school environment; the volunteers helped extend the fire safety education to the home environment as well.

The firefighters reviewed with students the importance of having smoke detectors and how students should respond if a smoke alarm sounds or if they see smoke in their home. Students learned the importance of crawling on the floor when exiting their home to their “safe place” and also learned the value of designating such a “safe place.” Firefighters also taught students the difference between “safe play” and “no play” with common household items, teaching students the potential fire danger of misusing everyday objects. The practice of stop-drop-roll and knowing to call 911 in the event of an emergency were strongly reinforced to increase student preparedness in case of emergencies.

The visiting firefighters ended the day by demonstrating how they dress appropriately in their safety equipment and gear when responding to an emergency. They explained the role of the fire truck and demonstrated the type of emergency equipment that can be put into use when responding to a fire. In what was likely the highlight of the day, excited students toured the fire trucks in a real hands-on experience, and received their own fire helmets and gift bags.

RCES appreciates the time and effort expended by the dedicated volunteer heroes of our community, both in their responses to local emergencies and in their efforts to teach our students effective methods of protecting themselves in the event of a fire.