| The theme this year is: "Prevent Home Fires". Local elementary students were treated to a visit from the Athens Volunteer Fire Department and of course their faithful friend "Sparky" the fire dog. Chief officers Stanley Harvey and John Casey presented a short lesson to kids in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade. The theme this year was derived from a startling statistic that says over 400,000 fire responses in 2006 were to residential fires. Firefighters across the nation hit the schools every year during fire prevention week to help educate young people, who in turn, may educate their parents about fire safety. It also creates an atmosphere of trust when the younger children can interact with firefighters. Often times, younger children are scared in an emergency and have a tendency to hide from those trying to help them. A big part of what we do during fire prevention centers around fostering that trust and explaining what it may be like if they are every caught in a fire. WVDNR ranger, Chris White was also on hand with Smokie the Bear. |