FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Members of the Springfield Fire Department are going back to high school. As part of a new fire safety program aimed at middle and high school students, educators with the Springfield Fire Department will visit numerous schools teaching them how to prevent and respond to fires. Already they have visited Family and Consumer Science, Health, Culinary Arts, and Food & Nutrition classes throughout the district.
Members of the Springfield Fire Department spend each October visiting all elementary schools in the city limits, but this marks the first time they have taken their fire safety program to the middle and high school level on a widespread scale. "This partnership with Springfield Public Schools is critical to protecting lives in our community," said Fire and Life Safety Educator Cara Erwin. "These students are beginning to make important decisions - sometimes life or death decisions. We hope they carry the information they learn during our presentations with them into adulthood and hopefully use it to reduce the number of fires in our community."
During the presentations, students are taught how to prevent common fires, how to put out small kitchen fires, how and when to use a fire extinguisher and much more.
Cooking fires are the number one cause of all residential fires in Springfield and almost always preventable. In addition to significant damage, cooking fires are also to blame for many injuries. "Knowing how to prevent and the proper way to extinguish a cooking fire could significantly reduce the number of burn injuries in our community," said Erwin.
For more information or to request a visit to your school, visit https://mo-springfield.civicplus.com/FormCenter/Fire-14/Request-a-School-Visit-86
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For media only: For more information, contact Fire and Life Safety Educator Cara Erwin at [email protected]