Fire Safey Day A Success!
On Friday, the students at LaHarpe Elementary School learned about fire safety. Students in Pre-K through 5th grade got a chance to learn from LaHarpe's volunteer firefighters the importance of having a fire safety plan in the home. The students experienced the smoke house, where they escaped to safety using a fire escape plan. From there, they got an up close and personal view of the fire truck, with explanations about the various tools and features of the truck. The highlight of the lesson was squirting the actual fire hose at a target, with the help of our local friendly firemen, of course. In the gym, the small groups met with a fireman who explained the various methods firemen might use as they put out a fire. They explained how they might use various tools of the trade, and donned the full fire fighting gear. Here, they showed the younger students not to be afraid of the scary oxygen tanks and masks the firefighters have to use as they enter a smoke filled house. They also explained the importance of having an escape plan in case their house ever caught fire.
As the lessons closed with the firemen, the whole school then practiced a fire drill evacuation, and then practiced a mock lock/down. The students were informed over the intercom that there was an "emergency" situation and the classrooms needed to be locked down until further notice. At this point, the teachers in the classrooms explained to the students that this was only a pretend situation ,so they would not alarmed. The teachers who did not have classes at the time of the drill were put into action "sweeping" the hallways and school for missing students then guiding them to "safety". After the signal was given, rooms were unlocked and classes returned to normal.
As part of the school improvement plan, schools are required to have a crisis plan in place to deal with emergency situations. All in all, the staff and students did a great job with the drill. The students and staff would like to extend a special thanks to the LaHarpe Fire Dept. and Police Dept. for helping out with the fire safety day, and crisis drill.
