Photo By Michael Strasser | Fort Drum community members meet firefighters, learn about their jobs, and try...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Oct. 11, 2024) -- It was a busy week for members of the Fort Drum Fire and Emergency Services Division who were promoting fire prevention and safety across post.
Throughout Fire Prevention Week, firefighters visited child development centers on post to talk with children about their jobs and the equipment they use.
“Along with the static display, we have a firefighter dressed up in full gear,” said Fire Inspector Kenneth Stout. “We want to show kids, especially at younger ages, that a firefighter is not someone to be scared of. It might seem scary with the mask and all the gear, but we’re here to help.”
They also met with community members inside the Post Exchange, handing out freebies like fire hats, magnets, coloring books and pens.
The big event, though, was an open house at Fire Station #2 on Oct. 10, where families got a real feel for firefighting activities. Attendees used a fire hose to douse a target with water, extinguished virtual fires, learned how fire alarms work, and climbed inside fire trucks.
Command Sgt. Maj. Brandon Williams, 548th Division Sustainment Support Battalion senior enlisted adviser, brought his two young daughters to the event.
“This is awesome what they are doing here for the families,” Williams said. “It’s nice for the kids to meet firefighters with all of their equipment, and see they are just people too.”
The firefighters had to share the spotlight with special guests like Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey the Bear, and elicited excited responses from attendees who surrounded them for hugs and photo opportunities.
Williams said they met Sparky the Fire Dog for the first time during the National Night Out event in August.
“Sparky was a big hit there, and it was nice seeing him here again,” he said. “We’ve only been here a couple of months, but we are really appreciating the great feeling of community here.”
Mountain Community Homes staff members supported the open house, providing pizza and drinks for attendees. Members of the Watertown and Black River fire departments also participated in the event.
Capt. Rich Little, with Watertown City Fire Department, invited attendees inside the Fire Safety House where they practice home evacuation procedures.
“We use this to help teach kids all of the nuances about fire safety and what to do in their homes – everything from having working smoke detectors to sleeping with your bedroom door closed,” he said. “A child is 10 times more likely to survive a house fire if the bedroom door is closed.”
Children learned how to feel the doorknob for heat, and how to exit through a window when the doorway is unsafe.
“They’re feeling for heat, we throw a little smoke inside and teach them how to move low to the ground,” Little said. “So, it gives them a chance to get those concepts down now before a real incident.”
Little has instructed thousands of children on fire safety and prevention, but he said events like the open house gives him time to reinforce fire safety with parents as well.
“We like to talk about the statistics,” he said. “I can tell you that 69 percent of the home fires in the city of Watertown did not have working smoke detectors. We know that for a fact because we check every time. So, we really try to hit home the message that having working smoke detectors can save lives and property.”
This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!”
“We want to remind people to check their smoke detectors every month to make sure they work,” Stout said. “And with daylight savings time approaching, it’s the best time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. That’s something you should be doing every six months.”
Stout said parents can get their kids involved during the smoke detector inspection.
“You don’t want to wait until there’s an emergency to practice your home exit plan,” he said. “You can practice it during those monthly tests. Try to get the whole family involved, make it as fun as possible.”
Stout has worked at Fort Drum FES for nearly 12 years, and he said being involved in community outreach and talking with residents has been a rewarding part of his job.
“Last year, we started a home school education program,” he said. “We had two classes with roughly 25 to 30 parents and children where we had a presentation with slideshows and some interaction with the kids. We showed them how to ‘stop, drop, and roll,’ or what they call the ‘fall and crawl’ when you have smoke in the house.”
Additionally, representative from both the fire and police division meet monthly with Mountain Community Homes residents at one of the community centers for an informal briefing and Q&A called “Coffee with the Chiefs.”
“It’s about finding those opportunities to connection with the community,’ Stout added. “The more outreach and the more involvement in the community to promote fire prevention and safety, the better it is for everyone.”
For more information about Fort Drum FES, visit https://home.army.mil/drum/my-fort/all-services/fire-division.
| Date Taken: | 10.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2024 09:36 |
| Story ID: | 482982 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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