Firefighters offer students lessons in fire safety
"What number should you call if you have an emergency?” Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. John Garnica asked about 80 kindergartners and first-graders at Cienega Elementary School this morning.
They called out in unison: “911!”
(At left, firefighter Anthony Canata shows how to "stop, drop and roll." At right, a student asks a question.)
During the program by Station 68 firefighters, the children also were shown a fire engine and paramedics truck and given advice on making their homes safe.
(Firefighter Dan Kaminsky tries a helmet on one of the students.)
“Fire Prevention Week is a great way to bring such an important issue to the forefront, and visiting our local schools makes learning about fire safety a fun experience for the students, and hopefully, it will get kids talking to their parents about fire safety,” Garnica said.
Fire Prevention Week was established to mark the Chicago fire of 1871, which killed more than 250 people, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. In 1920, President Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed in October.
-- Mary MacVean
Photos by Jessica Childress
