National Fire Prevention Week was held Oct. 5–11 and the Aberdeen Fire Department is continuing their efforts as firefighters endeavor to visit every elementary school in the district.

On Tuesday, AFD’s Mitch Housden and two colleagues paid a visit to Robert Gray Elementary and taught students basic fire safety tips through instruction and interactivity, and a demonstration of the gear firefighters wear.

“It’s something we feel is very important for young kids to get involved with, learning fire safety. A lot of these kids will take the information back to their families and create a conversation,” Housden said. “We think it’s really important to start that conversation at a young age, and we’ve had a lot of success with the conversations families have with each other.”

Housden emphasized to the kids that a fully equipped, suited up firefighter is nothing to be afraid of.

“It’s important to get that relationship started early so they know it’s nothing to be scared of, we’re there to help them,” Housden said. “Most of the time when we see them it’s in a bad time, we want to show them what it’s like before something bad happens and they see us in a bad light.”

Housden said that fire safety education is not limited to elementary school visits.

“We partnered with State Farm and they gave us a handful of packets to hand out to students,” Housden said. “Every year we get a couple of phone calls … come install smoke alarms, come do a home safety check. We know that information is getting out to the students and the families. It’s very important we see that follow up.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” works to educate everyone about using these batteries safely. The campaign stresses how important it is to BUY, CHARGE, and RECYCLE safely when it comes to lithium-ion batteries.”

Housden, who gave the students a homework assignment — designate a safe gathering place in the event of an emergency and identify two smoke alarms in their house — said that smoke alarm technology has changed drastically.

“The new ones now are a 10-year battery so no more of that chirping at 2 a.m., that makes it a lot easier,” Housden said. “We’re trying to get those installed. That’s something we provide, the fire department can actually install those. We can do it for free.”

Housden added that people should know that their valuables can be replaced but they cannot.

For more information about fire safety education for youngsters, visit https://sparkyschoolhouse.org/

Aberdeen firefighter Mario Hernandez demonstrates his firefighting gear.