Fire department educates kids

With fires so frequent in Belize City, the National Fire Service has launched a concentrated effort to educate the public, beginning with the children. The effort is designed to make everyone more “fire literate” and they are going to schools in Belize City teaching kids everything from how to call the fire department to “the drop and roll.” Today, the children of St. Martin De Porres Primary School got their fire lecture.

Margaret Williams, Principal, St. Martin De Porres

“Fire can happen at the schools and if we don’t educate the children, they won’t know about it, they won’t know what to do. So I think it’s something very, very good, the whole staff thinks it is something very, very good.”

Janelle Chanona

And for the children of St. Martin De Porres Primary School, the lecture was about the little things that can make a big difference in an emergency.

Karl Longsworth, Divisional Officer

“The information shared with the kids and the teachers is to let them know the good part about fire and the bad part. The good fires are the controlled fires, where you cook and you whatever. The bad part is when you burn down your house, burn the forest things like this. And the other information, well what to do in case of fire, fire preventive methods, fire extinguishers.”

Margaret Williams

“I hope the parents listen to the message that the children take home because the lessons are so important.”

“The children that he had spoken to already, I hear them talking about it on the school compound and I’m sure that they took the message at home. I think they are really motivated and I don’t think they are going to do anything that would cause a fire.”

When they had the theory part memorized, the children got to practice. For the first time ever, St. Martin de Porres had a fire drill. For their first try, the school’s 489 children made it to safety in four minutes, which isn’t bad. But they asked to do it again and this time, they shaved off a whole minute.

Janelle Chanona for News Five.

As a follow-up, St. Martin de Porres will now have monthly fire drills. Longsworth says he will visit every single Belize City primary school during his fire safety crusade. The National Fire Service is hoping they can eventually extend the program to the districts.