San Luis firefighters teach kids fire safety

Teach them while they're young.

That's the approach the San Luis, Ariz., Fire Department will take next week when it goes from school to school in the Gadsden Elementary District to teach first- through third-graders fire prevention tips.

The department is among fire departments around the nation teaching fire safety as part of Fire Prevention Week, which starts today.

Luis Cebreros, public information officer for the San Luis Fire Department, will be bringing that message to the six elementary schools in the district that comprise San Luis and neighboring Gadsden.

"I'll go class to class to speak to them for about 10 or 15 minutes," he said.

Cebreros plans to discuss the causes of fires, how youngsters can do their part to prevent fires in the house, and in the event a fire does start in the home, how to get out safely.

And in the event the youngest students in the schools aren't used to seeing someone cloaked in a helmet, oxygen mask and heavy fire-retardant suit, Cebreros wants to get them used to the sight, so they run to, not away from, firefighters in time of an emergency.

Cebreros will visit Ed Pastor Elementary School on Monday, Desert View Elementary on Tuesday, Arizona Desert Elementary on Wednesday, Cesar Chavez Elementary on Oct. 8, Rio Colorado Elementary on Oct. 9 and Gadsden Elementary on Oct. 12.

The Somerton/Cocopah Fire Department likewise is planning to make school visits in Somerton during Fire Prevention Week, department spokesman Robby Rodriguez said.

As part of the “Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned" theme of this year's fire prevention theme, the Somerton department will stress the importance of taking precautions in the kitchen to prevent children from suffering cooking-related burns, Rodriguez said.

FIRE PREVENTION TIPS
• Have a 3-foot “kid-free” zone around the stove.
• Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot foodor drinking a hot beverage.
• Be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, oven, irons, lamps and heaters.
• Install tamper-resistant receptacles to prevent a child from sticking an object in the outlet.
• Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle, portable heater, lit fireplace or stove.
• Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.
• Set your hot water temperature no higher than 120 degrees.
• Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.
• Keep hot foods and liquids away from tables and counter edges so they cannot be pulled or knocked over.
Source: Somerton/Cocopah Fire Department