Maricopa youngsters learn fire safety

Twelve kids got an inside look at Fire Station 574 Saturday morning at a fire safety course held by the Maricopa Fire Department and sponsored by the city’s Parks, Recreation and Libraries Department.

Fireman Paul Neumann led the group of children through the station’s living quarters. The children learned how firemen are awakened when there is an emergency in the middle of the night, and where they cook their meals.

The youngsters were then led to the fire trucks where they were introduced to some of the common tools used by the firefighters, including the Jaws of Life.

One firefighter put on his entire uniform to show the kids how firemen would look if they came to their homes.

Neumann then took a moment to give the kids a serious message.

After showing a smoke alarm and setting it off, he asked if any of them knew what to do if they heard the alarm go off in their house. If the alarm went off at night, Paul instructed the kids to check their door for heat and only open the door if it was cool. He then suggested setting up a meeting place with their parents where the family could meet outside the house in the event of a fire.

“This is the most important message of this course,” Neumann said. “I tell the kids in the hopes that they bring it up to their parents when they get home, but I also make a point of delivering part of the discussion to the parents so that they bring it up if the kids don’t.”

When asked why it is so important that there is a meeting place somewhere outside the home, Neumann said it helps the family get organized quickly and also helps the firefighters know when someone is stuck inside the house.

At the close of the course, the kids were given goodie bags and allowed to tour the inside of the fire truck.

Before six-year-old Alec Kramarczyk reluctantly left for home, he summed up his
thoughts on the fire station.

“I really like this place,” he said.

Photos by Katie Winkley