Photo By Jennifer James | FORT Riley, Kan. - A team from Fort Riley Fire and Emergency Services arrives at the...... read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kan. - Greeted with smiles and cheers, four members of Fort Riley’s Fire and Emergency Services team entered the Forsyth Child Development Center on Mar. 15 to spend time with a classroom full of children.
They call it Firefighter Friday where each week, a team from one of the Fort Riley fire stations visits a CDC and interacts with children in a classroom setting, reading to them or sitting at tables and coloring with the children.
Firefighter Friday started in August 2023. It is a partnership between CDC leaders and Fort Riley’s Fire and Emergency Services. Fire Inspector Kathy Deutsch has been involved since the beginning and explains the premise behind the program.
“Our department is pretty involved with the community, and this is just another great way of interacting with the kids at a young age,” Deutsch said. “They allow us to come in here every week, which makes a huge difference, because it teaches the kids that we are here for them and not to be afraid of firefighters. The more they see us, the more comfortable they are around us.”
Fort Riley Fire and Emergency services personnel participate in various events throughout the community year-round, giving children an opportunity to talk to them. But Firefighter Friday is a specific opportunity for firefighters.
“We get facetime with the kids, so they know that firefighters are friendly folks in an emergency,” Capt. Randy Engel said. “You can tell they’re happy when they reach out and talk to us.”
Lt. Ryan Pflaster added, “We’re making sure that the kids in the neighborhood know that we’re here for them and that we’re there to help provide safety for the families.”
When asked what he enjoyed most about these interactions, Firefighter Clayton Stromberg said, “We get to show our faces to the community and just bring awareness to firefighters. We had a good time coloring. It’s fun. The kids are funny.”
Not only do the children seem to enjoy the face-to-face interactions with firefighters, but it has also proven to be effective in making them more comfortable around these men and women. “I do monthly inspections and drills here,” said Deutsch. “I’ll come here not on a Firefighter Friday and walk into the room, and they yell ‘FIREFIGHTER!’. They’re just so excited to see us and us being here is making an impression on them, which is great.”
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2024 12:22 |
| Story ID: | 466644 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY , KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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