The garbage bags signified smoke.
Grade three students at Isabella Dicken Elementary School lines up in two rows, holding garbage bags in the air.
They played out a fire scenario, practicing how to get out of a house.
After crawling under the smoke, Fire Prevention Officer Tom Hopkins asked them, “what number are you going to call?”
“911,” said a girl, holding a phone up to her ear.
It’s a run through that Hopkins has led countless times over the past few weeks, going to schools across the area teaching kids about fire safety.
“It’s important for them to understand,” he said, explaining that the best time to teach fire safety and prevention is at a young age, so that they know what to do in the event of an emergency.
So that “it becomes second nature to them,” he said.
He says kids then bring the message home to their parents as well, and initiates conversations about establishing an escape plan in the event of a fire.
“Reaching kids is probably the most important thing we can do,” he said.
