Is there a preschooler or toddler in your family? Has s/he ever seen a firefighter up close, in full gear? Heard the household smoke alarm? Been told what to do in case of fire?
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
While this morning’s Firefighter Storytime at Delridge Library looked and sounded like fun … at the heart of it was a life-and-death lesson: Teaching small children what to do in case of fire. With the help of Junction-based Engine 32’s crew members, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins was the guest reader:
He read the same book that’s usually read at Firefighter Storytimes … “No Dragons for Tea,” Jean E. Pendziwol‘s book about a visit from a friendly dragon who sneezes and accidentally sets a house on fire. What follows in the story helps kids understand what to do and what not to do. After the reading, the kids got to see Firefighter Jeff from Engine 32 suit up into full gear, including the rebreather that, as Chief Scoggins noted, made him sound like Darth Vader. Then he got down on the ground to demonstrate getting below the smoke in a smoke-filled room and crawling to safety:
Chief Scoggins also got down onto the floor for some prizes and high-fives:
The storytime audience got to go outside and see the fire engine:
They also learned that firefighters go to many different types of incidents, including medical calls, so you might see them even if nothing is burning. The hope of course is that they’ll never need to put the lessons into action, nor have to see the firefighters at work, but one boy said he had: “Grandma started a fire,” he said. Uh-oh.
P.S. Chief Scoggins assigned “homework,” including asking the grownups to show the kids what the smoke alarm sounds like, and making a plan about how to get out of the house and where to go. All important stuff you can and should do with your family even if you don’t get the lesson directly from SFD. But if you’d like to check out Firefighter Storytime firsthand – next one isn’t too far away, a week from today (August 12th) at 11:15 am at South Park Library (8th Ave. S./Cloverdale).
| Comments Off on Lifesaving lesson: Engine 32 crew and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins visit Delridge Library for Firefighter Storytime