Crime & Safety
Primary School Visits OCFD for Fire Prevention Week
Fire Prevention Week conveys friendly messages to young students.
First-grade students from the Ocean City Primary School took a field trip across the street to visit the Ocean City Fire Department for Fire Prevention Week. The main goal was to teach children the steps to prevent fires and understand safety in emergency situations.
The firemen greeted the students and brought them inside for a tour. One of the biggest concepts to teach the children was that firemen work 24 hours. To explain this, the firemen compared their day to the students'.
"We not only do this to teach fire safety, we teach them to recognize that it [the fire department] is a safe place and they can come here in an emergency," firefighter Ray Clark said.
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The students sat in the "living room" area of the Fire Department, where the firefighters also have their classes. Clark and Wyatt Clevenger spoke to the students and began a movie, "Sparky Says," in which Sparky the dog explains the key elements of how to act in an emergency situation.
Not much later, the children heard a real fire call come over the speaker, prompting one of the students to ask if a cat was stuck in a tree.
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After seeing the movie, the children understood the four parts to a fire. Listen to hear the smoke alarm, touch the door to see if it is hot, look for a safe way out and smell for smoke. In addition, they learned to never go back into the building, and if there is too much smoke to keep low to the ground.
Students were surprised to learn that the firemen would rescue their animals and things that were left in the home. After seeing the movie, the children proceeded to see the kitchen and sleeping areas of the department. They then went into the ambulance where students learned the parts of the vehicle.
A final and favorite activity, the students got to go into the fire truck in groups of four and then sprayed the fire hose into a wooden building with painted blocks of fire. To end the day, the students yelled for fireman Hank Eckbold to climb higher and higher on the ladder.
"We do tours all day any day. it is as involved as the participant wants it to be. During the block party, it was packed all day long. Our doors might be shut in the winter, but we are always here to give a tour or to help," Clark said.
Classes will continue to visit the fire department throughout the week.
