GFPS students learn fire prevention, safety with GFFR skits
The gymnasium at Meadow Lark Elementary School was abuzz with excitement on Wednesday as some of their favorite characters paid them a special visit.
The students were the live audience for “Fire Prevention’s Got Talent,” with two of their teachers stepping in for the celebrity judges.
Sheriff Woody was up first with his fire prevention talents that included smoke detectors and escape plans.
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Setting off the sound of the smoke detector, caused by Dad’s cooking, he said that “they’re our nose at night,” sniffing out smoke that humans typically don’t wake up to, but pets often do.
When it makes a sound, Woody said, that’s serious and “we need to get out.”
Woody, played by Tim Harris, a firefighter and member of Great Falls Fire Rescue’s prevention bureau, said that when there’s smoke to get low.
If the door is hot, should we go that way, asked Jerry Pospisil, deputy fire marshal and host of the Oct. 7 talent show.
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No, the students shouted in response.
What about hiding under the bed or in the closet?
No!
Should make a lot of noise?
No, they shouted.
Pospisil said, got ya, be loud and yell to the firefighters where you are.
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The team called three students to the stage.
It was dress like your favorite toy day for C.M. Russell’s homecoming week and the team chose a Spider-Man, a construction worker and a cowboy.
With black streamers representing smoke, Pospisil asked how the students would get under as the smoke got lower.
Crawl, they shouted, as the three volunteers demonstrated, which Pospisil said firefighters call “get low and go.”
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Woody showed the students, kindergarteners through second graders, his escape plan for Andy and Molly’s house, and their meeting place outside.
Once there, “get out and stay out, not returning for even their favorite toys.
As he finished his talent and left the stage, a student in the back of the crowd said, “bye bye, Woody!”
Judging Woody’s talent with the students, Pospisil asked the students on the count of three what they should do if there’s smoke.
“Get low and go,” came the resounding reply.
When we’re out, do we go back in, Pospisil asked.
No!
Even for a puppy?
No!
A toy?
No!
What do we do, Pospisil asked.
“Get out and stay out,” the students shouted.
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Firefighters have special backpacks and masks so they can breathe while putting out fires and saving their favorite toys, Pospisil said.
Once we’re out, what do we do, he asked the students.
Call 911, they shouted.
Do we call that number to get a pizza, he asked.
No!
To get an ice cream?
No!
Next up, Buzz Lightyear with his fire prevention on lithium batteries and chargers.
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The theme of this year’s national fire prevention week is “Charge into safety,” Buzz said, played by Tom Zaremski, firefighter and member of GFFR’s prevention bureau.
For his talent, he’d acquired a battery that might fit in his communication device from the planet Nokia, a universal charger and his trusty extension cord he’d been gifted for Christmas.
Pretending to be shocked as he plugged the contraption into a makeshift power source, the judges gave Buzz two red X’s.
Reviewing the act with the students, Pospisil said that they should always use the correct batteries and chargers for their devices and plug chargers directly into the wall rather than using extension cords.
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Students shouldn’t fall asleep in bed with their devices since they can heat up and catch fire, eliciting a loud gasp from the students.
Spider-Man was up next talking about outdoor fire safety since he likes to go camping and eat s’mores.
To light a campfire, you’ll need a special tool, a match, which is not a toy, he said, so the students need responsible adults around.
Should we jump over campfires or run around them, Spider-Man, also played by Harris, asked.
No!
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When we’re done, “like our cousin Smokey the Bear says, drown it, stir it, then completely drown it,” to make sure the campfire is out, Spider-Man said.
Asked whether the students like to go swimming, just about every hand shot up.
Spider-Man said they should always check in with a responsible adult and have a life jacket and a swimming buddy.
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He said he and his superhero friends always buckle up in the car and asked what the students should say if they notice their parents forget to do so.
“Buckle up, buttercup, they shouted.
The last contestant, Mario, tackled kitchen safety as his talent.
Making one of his famous pizzas that the lunch ladies wanted the recipe for, he forgot to put on his oven mitts and then put a towel on top of the stove, setting off the smoke alarm.
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As the alarm blares, Mario said, “Oh no! My sleeve is on fire, what do I do,” while running around the stage.
The kids shout that he should “stop, drop and roll!”
Judges gave Mario, played by Tom Zaremski, two red X’s.
Pospisil told the kids they should teach Mario what he’d done wrong, which included walking away from a hot stove, forgetting his oven mitts and putting a towel on a hot stove.
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“Mario was scared! Mario panicked! Mario is learning so much!”
For their finale, Zaremski told the students their homework was to tell their moms and dads and brothers and sisters what they’d learned at Fire Prevention’s Got Talent. They were heading home with activity books to help.
There was a fire truck outside with real live firefighters if the students wanted to see them, but they understood if the students wanted to go back to class and do their homework instead, Zaremski said.
No!
This is the second year Great Falls Fire Rescue has visited schools with their fire prevention skit after a five-year hiatus.
The program is for students in kindergarten through second grade and Zaremski said this year, they visited 15 public elementary schools and two private schools, reaching about 2,300 students, all of whom were at least as jubilant as the Meadow Lark Cougars.
Zaremski said they try to stick with popular characters and Toy Story, Spider-Man and Mario all had recent movies, they thought those would entertain the students.
The messages stay the same year to year since Zaremski said students learn through message saturation and by the time a student has seen a fire prevention skit for three years, they hope those messages stick with them.
The skits are created by the fire prevention bureau, which includes Pospisil, Harris and Zaremski, who among them have more than 75 years of firefighting experience.
The bureau is lead by Fire Marshal Mike McIntosh. GFFR Chief Jeremy Virts attended the Meadow Lark skit.
“We’d rather do this than put out the fires,” Zaremski said about the importance of prevention.
Great Falls Fire Rescue Foundation provided funding for the handouts, a new backdrop and an improved sound system.
The community can donate through the foundation to support the fire prevention skits by designating their donation to the program.
