The St. Louis Area Fire Department traveled to the two elementary schools in the St. Louis district Friday, Oct. 14, to teach the kids about fire safety and prevention. 

The department started the day off at Nikkari Elementary at 9 a.m. and continued to Carrie Knaus Elementary at 1:15 p.m. The crew consisted of firefighters Sean Kelly, John Henry, Jenny Dill, Jake Brown, and the department’s own Sparky the Firedog. 

Kelly was the head of the crew for the presentations. Kelly has volunteered to participate in Fire Safety Day for the past few years. “I’m passionate about fire safety and education because our kids are truly the future of safety in our community. Some of these kids will even grow up to be firefighters. Teaching kids to be safe and to take that message of safety back to their homes is a great opportunity,” said Kelly. He was very happy with the turn out of the day. Kelly commented, “Our visit to the elementary schools on Friday was a great success. Four firefighters and a student volunteer all worked together to make a presentation that was both exciting and educational. The kids got an early introduction to fire science, got to meet Sparky the Firedog, and a few lucky students got to compete in a firefighter training obstacle course.” 

Kelly went on to talk about how his favorite part of the day was the reaction when Sparky made his entrance. “They went crazy with excitement! Having Sparky as part of our fire prevention program is a great way to engage the kids. They really do love that dog,”Kelly added.

Dill  has been volunteering to be a part of the fire safety assembly for a while now. “I do fire safety because kids are the first line in fire prevention. A lot of kids are left home as babysitters for younger siblings or on their own and they need to know what to do in case of emergencies. I love teaching children about fire safety and hope to make something stick with them that they will teach to others,” said Dill. She had so much fun during the assembly seeing all of the smiles from the kids. “I think that on Friday the whole event went well! Seeing the kids learn and have fun doing it just makes it so worth doing. These kids are smart, and they really pay attention to what we are teaching,” she commented.
Jenny went on to talk about how her favorite part of the day was seeing the kids get so excited to learn about fire safety. “This is my passion, and I love seeing the girls get excited. I wish I would have had a female firefighter come to my school when I was a kid! The guys on my team really get into teaching the kids and make the education fun. Sometimes being a firefighter can be stressful, but fire prevention days make it fun!”

The St. Louis Area Fire Department is excited to continue the tradition of going to the elementary schools and teaching about fire prevention every year.