Whiteman Elementary students learn fire safety during 2019 Fire Prevention Week

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kayla White
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

The Fire and Emergency Services Team at Whiteman Air Force Base, led a fire prevention lesson for the mini members of Team Whiteman on Oct. 10.

First graders from Whiteman Elementary traveled to the base Youth Center where they learned how to safely escape a house fire, as part of the 2019 Fire Prevention Week campaign.

This year’s campaign is called “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape”.

Carrie Hinote, a first grade teacher at Whiteman Elementary, said the children have a great time engaging with the base fire department.

“It’s good exposure and gives them hands-on experience at an early age,” she said.

Students learned how smoke detectors work and watched an Airman demonstrate quick donning of his protective firefighting gear. They also won prizes during a coloring contest and played in a bouncy house.

“The sooner you expose them to fire safety, the better,” said Andrew Wells, a fire inspector assigned to Whiteman AFB. “Kids learn through repetition. If you start them young, it’s engrained by the time they are adults.”

The Whiteman AFB Fire and Emergency Services team will host an activity day at the base commissary from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 12 as the culminating event for Fire Prevention Week. It will feature a range of activities such as extinguisher training and fire gear try on, and there will be a fire truck display.

To find out more about Fire Prevention Week programs and activities on Whiteman AFB, please contact the Whiteman AFB Fire and Emergency Services at 687-6080 or 687-6083. 

For more general information about Fire Prevention Week and home escape planning, visit www.fpw.org.