For children in pre-school the Arvada
Fire Department teaches them that matches and lighters are not
toys. The beginning of this lesson is designed around Stretch
the Fire Truck who also teaches that some the children that some
things are hot and how to avoid hot things. Stretch is a
character in an 8-minute video, and also a toy and incite for an
impending trip to an actual fire truck. The fire-fighters and
their domineering positive presence amongst the children in the
room, stand around observing the kids while they watch the
instructional video. The children are then usually shown the
inside of the firehouse, pertaining to specific fire stations,
and also a tour of the fire truck itself. Before both of those,
however, the kids are ensured to be well-versed in
distinguishing between hot and cold items and not getting
burned. They also observe a fire fighter put on his traditional
outfit slowly as to see that the youngsters are not frightened
by their bulky figure. The presentation in totality takes about
45 minutes. Many of the kids often leave with red fire hats to
commemorate the experience.
The following year in kindergarten the
children get visited by the fire fighters once again. They are
also paid another visit by Stretch the Fire Truck again. This
time Stretch’s message is again very important; it’s a message
that most every adult still remembers to this day. After stretch
concludes teaching children of the importance of stop, drop and
roll; firemen let the students apply what they’ve learned in
practice. Once completing that, once again the students are
invited to witness a fire fighter put-on the equipment necessary
for him to battle a flame and once again he does this slowly and
verbally so no child would be afraid to embrace a fireman in the
event of an emergency because of his "scary" clothes. After a
brief tour of the fire truck the students are released back into
their teacher’s instruction. The entire tour takes about 50
minutes.
Stretch returns to
teach first-graders about the dangers of smoke and how to react
when a smoke alarm sustains in the atmosphere, which is vital
for first-graders who return to empty homes or homes occupied by
other young siblings. Stretch is accompanied by his usual posse
of fire fighters again and they overview all information from
the video and take questions. The students are ensured a firm
understanding in how to efficiently crawl underneath thickening
smoke. Proceeding another viewing of dressed-fire-fighter
etiquette, the children are then invited to tour the fire truck
or fire trucks (depending on which station).
Second-graders are taught about 911 and
how to ensure that the number gets dialed properly in the even
of an emergency. Second graders are also taught about other
types of emergencies like missing people, witnessing crimes and
potential harm to them. The children are also briefed with the
information that they will need to provide the dispatcher with.
Students are then shown a fire fighter in full-uniform and given
the opportunity to view the fire truck. The presentation usually
takes about 60 minutes.
Students in the third-year of their
elementary education are educated by Arvada Fire officials in
proper exit strategies and techniques with regard them and their
home, respectively. The students play a game that takes the form
of a video and whoever decides to play may earn points by
learning and applying the proper techniques for exiting a
dangerous home. In the game, students lose points for answering
questions incorrectly. The fire fighters then reinforce the
lesson by maintaining an overview of important bullets from the
video. Students are required to complete homework assignments
where they must draw out the exit plans for their home, complete
with a meeting place for family members. Students are then
invited to observe as a fire fighter dresses in his battle
attire and then they are allowed to view the truck before
returning to class. This lesson takes about 50 minutes,
Finally in
sixth-grade students are introduced to wild fires and wild fire
prevention. Students must perform an assignment with a felt
board, a model home, trees, a water source and other items to
build their dream home. The students are then taught about fire
prevention methods and are invited to apply necessary amendments
to their projects to alleviate the danger of the situation. If
time permits the adolescent children are given lessons
pertaining to the ramifications of playing with fire by watching
a video of people who have caused damage to things by playing
with fire.
That concludes Arvada fire-education for youth.
