During Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 10-14, Taylor-Snowflake Fire & Medical Department personnel visited the elementary schools in the community to share life saving information.
“We were present when the schools conducted fire drills, then met with each age group in an assembly to present the Prevention Week message and a fire safety video,” said Assistant Fire Chief Willie Nelson. “We also handed out bags with fire safety coloring books and handouts for the parents.”
Walmart provided a donation to help cover the cost of the supplies, and State Farm insurance provided coloring books and printed material.
This year the campaign theme was Don’t Wait-Check the Date, marking the third and final year they will talk about smoke detectors.
Nelson noted that one of the elementary students remembered last year’s fire prevention theme, Hear the Beep Where You Sleep, which was very impressive.
Eight assemblies were held. Monday during the assembly the department ran five EMS calls. Fire Chief Clint Burden was left to handle the assemblies by himself as everyone else was covering the multiple dispatches, even Sparky had to respond.
There were five assemblies scheduled for Tuesday, and shortly after they started, both on-duty crews were dispatched for EMS assignments. “The assemblies went well, with active student participation, and Sparky was able to stay and participate,” said Nelson.
The department held an open house Oct. 11 at Station 2 in Snowflake due to fall break that began on Oct. 13. There were multiple demonstrations and activities, balloons, hot dogs, a photo booth, and fire demonstrations, including providing kids an opportunity to use a fire hose to put water on a home and to use a fire extinguisher to put out a propane fire.
DC Restorations constructed and donated an 8’x12’ room covered with drywall that was staged as a living room. The room was constructed in sections that will be stored and used for future training and demonstrations. Shepherd’s Kitchen provided the furniture and High Country Flooring, the carpet. A Christmas tree was placed in the corner and set on fire.
“We were a little concerned because the tree was only cut down about three weeks earlier,” said Nelson, noting that the tree had not dried out before the demonstration and they weren’t sure how fast it would burn. There were some dried pine needles toward the center of the tree, though, and once started, the fire spread quickly.
The demonstration lasted around two minutes and the entire room was engulfed in flames. “The purpose was to promote fire safety and let people know how dangerous Christmas trees can be. They need to make sure they are constantly watered and taken out of the house as soon as possible,” said Nelson.
It was a busy week for firefighters, according to Nelson, who noted, “Similar to the previous day’s challenges of managing emergency calls during the fire prevention activities, during the open house we were called to respond to an accident scene.” A total of eight patients were transported as a result of the crash. During the morning assemblies the next day, department personnel treated three patients as the result of an auto accident. There was another EMS call during the Thursday morning assembly.
“We feel like Fire Prevention week was a success and we appreciate everyone that helped make it happen,” said Nelson.
Following this year’s theme, Taylor-Snowflake Fire & Medical Department encourages everyone to check their smoke detector, know how old it is and change it every 10 years.
