Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Kids from Lauren Dunnam’s first grade class cover their ears after a fire alarm sounds in the Vestavia Hills Fire Department’s smokehouse.
The Vestavia Hills Fire Department will once again demonstrate fire safety to children in Vestavia Hills schools, explaining how to escape in the event of a fire.
The “Smoke House” program has been around for more than 15 years, fire Capt. Ryan Farrell said. Firefighters hope to reach children at the age where they will remember and understand all they are taught about fires, he said.
Most importantly, children are taught to keep their door shut, to get out of the house and stay out, to not go back in during a fire, Farrell said.
While children are the target audience, Farrell said the children often go home and tell what they’ve learned to their parents about having a plan in case of a fire, so they can learn as well.
Firefighters will use a decorated “house” to educate the students, teaching them to crawl through the house and how to escape, Farrell said. They’ll learn about checking doors to see if they are hot before opening, what a smoke detector alarm sounds like and how to call 911. Kids will often leave with a fire department helmet or coloring book to remember their lesson, Farrell said.
The dates for the Smoke House presentations are:
- Oct. 2: Vestavia Hills Elementary West
- Oct. 4: Vestavia Hills Elementary East
- Oct. 8: Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge
- Oct. 9: Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights
As of press time, no date was set for Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park, but Farrell said the Fire Department was working to set a date.
