A group of homeschooled children who have never seen the inside of a fire station before received an up-close and personal tour of Muscatine Fire Department Station 2 Saturday.
Amy and Alex Lambert worked with Lieutenant Jason Verschoore and the Public Education Shift of the Muscatine Fire Department to schedule a tour of Station 2 to bring their four children, Barrett, Corbin, Max, and Henry, to learn more about firefighting.
The day began with a discussion on fire safety.
“We discussed home fire safety including how to call 9-1-1, and what information to provide when they call,” Lt. Verschoore said.
Also discussed was the need for a family meeting place outside of the home in case of a family emergency, and to never go back into the home for pets, toys, etc., once you are outside. The final topic was closing the bedroom door while sleeping for fire safety.
Research has found that keeping the bedroom door closed helps to prevent a fire from spreading by restricting oxygen and decreasing temperatures. It also helps to reduce the amount of toxic smoke and lessens smoke damage. It could even save lives.
“We finished the day with a tour of the station and, of course, that included the ‘cool’ trucks,” Lt. Verschoore said.
Another safety tip is to make sure you have working smoke detectors inside and outside of every bedroom, and on every level in your home. If there is a fire, this helps alert family members right away. You may not know where the fire is when the smoke alarm goes off so it is important to have a plan with escape routes from every room and a meeting place for family members outside the house. Families are encouraged to create an escape plan and to practice that plan with everyone living in the home.
The Muscatine Fire Department provides public education on several levels. Firefighters teach adult fire safety classes to industrial and health care facilities on a request basis. Elementary schools are given fire safety classes for third, fourth, and fifth graders throughout the school year. Preschoolers and grades K-2 can come to the public safety building for tours, and when they do, they will experience Freddie the Fire Truck singing, dancing and teaching fire safety. Each elementary school student will receive monthly lesson plans for fire safety that are taught by the homeroom teacher or sent home for parental involvement.
For those who would like more information on scheduling a tour of the Muscatine Fire Department and/or a safety talk from a firefighter for home schooled students, contact the Muscatine Fire Department at 563-263-9233.
The department is always willing to work with the public on special projects pertaining to fire safety, as time and circumstances allow.
The Public Education shift is led by Battalion Chief Ted Hillard (thillard@muscatineiowa.gov)
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