More than just putting out fires

For more than two decades, members of the Valley Stream Fire Department have been visiting local schools to teach children the basics of fire safety.

Firefighters recently wrapped up their tour of local elementary schools as October was Fire Prevention Month. The program was started in 1987 as a way of reaching more children. Firefighters say prior to that, the fire department would host an open house at one of the stations and draw maybe 50 or 60 people — mostly firefighters and their families.

Ron Garofalo, then the chief, and Gary Shaw, then a lieutenant, started the program to bring fire prevention to the schools and it has grown in its 22 years.

“The program does work,” Garofalo said, recalling a house fire several years in which the children were able to get out because they learned how to safely escape during the fire department’s visit to their school.

Garofalo said that lessons include teaching the children stop, drop and roll, to know two ways of out of their home, know to feel the door if it’s hot, to crawl low under the smoke, to never go back inside, to have a family meeting place and not to be afraid of firefighters. It is also stresses to children that every home should have at least one working smoke detector.

Firefighter Steve Acquavella said a lot of children go home after the fire department comes to visit, realize they don’t have a smoke detector and get their parents to go out and buy one.

Shaw said that the fire safety lessons they teach depend on who is listening. “We can tailor the program to the audience,” he said. “Everything is age appropriate.” He said that primarily the fire department presents for children in pre-K through fourth grade, and each year they reach more than 1,000 kids.

The fire department purchased its fire safety trailer in 2001 through a grant from State Sen. Dean Skelos as well as with money from the Mike Moran and John Tate donation fund. The trailer serves as a model house so firefighters can teach children about the fire dangers in their home and how to properly escape in an emergency. Fake smoke comes in so children learn to crawl low and there is also a heated door so the kids can understand how to check if a fire might be right outside their room. After going through the trailer, children are helped out of the back window by a firefighter.

Shaw noted that the trailer can also be used for hurricane education. He said it has only been used a handful of times to practice a severe storm scenario.

There are also a variety of videos the firefighters show. Shaw said one he often has children watch is about how fast a fire can happen. “Within minutes, your entire living room can be engulfed in flames,” he said, noting that temperatures could well exceed 1,000 degrees.

In front of the children, a firefighter will go from being in plain clothes into full turnout gear so the children know not to be scared when they see a firefighter. The kids also get to see a fire truck and learn about the various equipment on board.

Wheeler Avenue School Principal Christine Zerillo said having the fire department come by every year is a crucial part of education. “It’s important that our children are aware of fire safety and prevention,” she said. “We want them to be safe everywhere. Children not only practice fire safety at school, they go home and become fire safety educators teaching parents, guardians and all family members.”

Zerillo said the members of the Valley Stream Fire Department do a great job and so many Wheeler Avenue School students and their families have benefitted from their lessons over the years.

Garofalo noted that the fire department doesn’t just do fire safety programs for children. Any community organization can request a fire safety presentation. The fire department will also help businesses set up a fire escape plan and train employees how to properly use fire extinguishers.