News Report

Reprinted with permission from The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas
March 14, 2001

by Trish Mehaffey
(The Morning News — NWAonline.net )

SPRINGDALE — "That was cool," Andrea Duran, second-grader, said as she crawled out the window of a smoke-filled room Tuesday in the Fire Safety House that stopped by Westwood Elementary in Springdale.

Cynthia Corral, another second-grader who also escaped from the house with Andrea, said her family had smoke detectors in their home and they had practiced a fire-escape plan.

Andrea and Cynthia, along with other kindergartners and first- and second-graders, participated in the debut of the mobile Fire Safety House that enables Springdale firefighters to teach home safety to area schoolchildren.

Assistant Chief Jim Miller of the Springdale Fire Department said the safety house was purchased in January, but the department had to install a generator, paint and put decals on the outside of the house and find a truck to pull the mobile unit. The department had sought a donation of a truck, but when that failed to materialize, it was decided to use the maintenance truck and buy a new one to replace it.

The fire department received part of the funding for the house from a CommunityCare Foundation grant of $25,000. The remaining $3,000 cost was covered by private donations from individuals and fund-raisers.

The youngsters at Westwood were taken through the house, which was set up with obstacles to teach them about the dangers in a kitchen and living room area and what to do in the event of a fire.

In the kitchen area, an oven mitt was placed on the stove and a pan on the burner was positioned with the handle hanging over the edge.

"What problems do I have in my kitchen?" Capt. Allan Skogen said. "Can you help me fix them?" Several first-graders stated the obvious, "The burner isn't on."

After being reminded they were pretending, some others said the oven mitt was on a burner and the pan handle was sticking out over the stove.

"That's right," Skogen said. "There should never be anything placed on the stove. A pan of hot soup could fall on you or mom and dad if the handle is turned out (toward the edge)."

The children were then led into the living room, which has a fireplace, and asked what was unsafe. Several correctly said the front screen was off, and newspapers and matches were near the fire.

The next obstacle in the house was stairs with toys scattered on them.

"What's wrong with the stairs?" Skogen said.

"We could fall and get hurt," two second-graders said in unison.

The most exciting and favorite part of the house, according to a group of second-graders, was the smoke room. The back room of the house has a door that heats up. Then an alarm sounds, and the room is filled with harmless, nontoxic smoke. The youngsters are taught to touch the door and, if they feel heat, it means there is a fire and they should crawl out another exit, in this case, a window.

Capt. Sam Bowman showed each of them how to climb down a ladder and meet outside in a safe place. The first-graders were nervous about the smoke, but they were reminded to move slowly and climb out one at a time.

Two firefighters, Gary Bohannan and Kyle Springer, were outside the house, explaining and demonstrating some of their fire equipment. Bohannan put on the head and face gear, which can be intimidating, to let the children see what a firefighter would look and sound like in the event of a fire.

"See, it's still me," Bohannan said. "We're there to help. Don't hide from us and don't be scared of us."

The firefighters explained how their jackets and pants are insulated and flame-retardant and let the children feel the weight of a steel-toed boot.

Skogen said the firefighters will be visiting all the Springdale schools throughout the year. The safety house can go anywhere in the area, including summer camps, day-care centers, church and civic events and can be used at fairs and festivals.

The house also will be used to teach elderly adults about kitchen safety.

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