Glenburn pupils educated in fire safety

GLENBURN – We all remember “stop, drop and roll” and making an escape route from a burning building as basic fire safety rules.

The children of Glenburn Elementary School’s third-grade class remember a lot more than that. Under the instruction of Lt. Eric Strout of the Glenburn Fire Department, for the past three months, the pupils have learned everything from correct phone numbers to call in case of a fire to poison prevention and assistance.

And they’ve had a chance to ride in ambulances and firetrucks – every 9-year-old’s dream.

“They get all excited if you ask them about what they’ve learned,” Strout said Wednesday during the last fire prevention class and graduation ceremony for the three third-grade classes at the school. “It’s incredible what they retain. Parents will come up to me in [the supermarket] and will say, ‘I’ve heard so much about you!'”

The children made fire safety posters, helped plan escape routes from their homes with their parents and learned basic guidelines, such as not to play with matches and not to call the fire department if their pet is stuck in a tree.

“I liked making the posters the best,” Whitney Beals, 9, said. “I made a picture of candles, and it says ‘Don’t leave your candles burning.'”

David Morrissey and Zachary Cushing, both 9, said they learned a lot about fire safety, but their favorite part of the class was getting to check out the ambulance and firetruck.

“The ambulance is cool because of all the stuff in it,” David said. “They have to clean it out after every call. I think it’s very interesting.”

Strout let the children climb aboard the ambulance, giving each one a chance to sit in the passenger seat while the sirens blared. Some of them even got to speak into the loudspeaker.

“If I get to do that, I’m going to say ‘Hello, Glenburn!'” Zachary said. “I think the ambulance is so neat.”

Before Wednesday’s graduation, Strout picked one child from each class to win a coveted prize: a chance to be picked up by a firetruck on the way to school the Friday after the last fire prevention class.

Zachary Hamilton, Emilie Dullas and Destin Lombard will arrive at school in style on Friday.

Strout said this was the second year Glenburn Elementary had done the fire prevention program, and they plan to bring it back next year.

“It’s really been a big success,” said Strout. “We gave them badges and helmets and certificates this year, and they just love it. Since a lot of schools don’t have the D.A.R.E. program anymore, we’re incorporating some personal and fire safety issues and teaching kids to say ‘no’ to drugs. And they’ve really learned a lot.”