HFD encourages everyone to ‘Hear the beep where you sleep’

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The first full week of October is observed nationally as “Fire Prevention Week.”

This year’s theme is “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep” and encourages Americans to have working fire and carbon monoxide alarms near each bedroom. Roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are asleep, according to the National Fire Protection Association. In Kansas, the rate is even higher–nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night, according to the state fire marshal.

The Hays Fire Department is visiting all the schools in Hays Monday through Friday, with demonstrations of its mobile fire safety house to students in kindergarten through second grade.

“The children are educated on basic fire safety and how to react to a fire in their home,” said Firefighter Brandon Zimmerman.

hfd mobile fire safety house — Second-graders watch the smoke rise to the ceiling of the HFD mobile fire safety house at Roosevelt Elementary School in 2013.

“We talk about basic home safety and what to do when in school when the fire alarm sounds We have a smoke machine in the mobile fire safety house. We can actually smoke up the room so they can see how the smoke travels down and they crawl under the smoke. We teach them everything they need to know–to feel the room door with the back of their hand.

“It’s a good process for them to go through,” Zimmerman added.

Third-graders are given the “Great Escape Challenge.”

hfd fire-prevention-ladder-climb-out-300x224 — Hays firefighters show youngsters how to “get out and stay out” during a house fire.

“Every third-grader draws us a poster. It’s a floor plan of their house with all their smoke alarms and CO (carbon monoxide) alarms in their house, hazards in their house, and their escape plan and meeting place–with the idea of ‘get out and stay out’ in case of a fire,” he explained.

One student from each third grade class is chosen to have the best escape plan and invited to the Hays fire station on Saturday, Oct. 24. The students will be presented with T-shirts, get to eat supper with the firefighters, tour the station and take a ride up high in the HFD Ladder 1 fire truck bucket.

“They get to see Hays from the air. It’s usually a pretty good hit with the kids,” Zimmerman said with a smile.