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Fire Education Articles
Fire Safety Program
Fire safety is a hot subject in elementary schools all over the nation, but what sets Upper Arlington’s Fire Safety Program above the rest is its unique approach to teaching safety techniques to students. In most cities, elementary schools dedicate one afternoon a year to fire safety, by gathering students of all ages in a gymnasium and teaching them the same fire safety lesson. In Upper Arlington, the Fire Division takes a much more targeted approach.
“We feel that visiting each individual classroom works best to teach fire safety, so that the children are able to retain the information we provide,” said Dan Kochensparger, Fire Public Information Officer for the City of Upper Arlington. “We find that creating a lesson plan tailored to the age group of the class is more effective than speaking to large groups. It may take more time, but in the long-run we feel we’re more successful with our teachings.”
Virginia Barney, Upper Arlington’s City Manager, has been extensively involved with the Fire Safety program from the start.
“My involvement with the program began as a volunteer, working with some friends doing research on other programs in the U.S., and collectively we put together programs for each age level,” said Barney of starting the program. “Once the programs were developed, we went out into the community schools and taught. The program was operated by volunteers until the early 1990s when we hired someone to take on the responsibilities.”
The goal of the Fire Safety Program is to teach elementary students basic but critical fire safety rules, by presenting students with different skill sets every year.
“Having a different message for each age group is important for children to learn the facts, teach what they’ve learned to their parents and to keep as an innate body of information they automatically turn to when they’re in a dangerous situation,” said Barney. “Practicing these ideas so that they become internal, such as ‘stop, drop and roll,’ is important for quick response to prevent tragedy.”
According to Kochensparger, UA also takes a different approach to its fire safety teachers than other cities. “We feel that using a retired teacher to educate children is more successful than using firefighters,” he said. “Firefighters are experts on the topic of fire safety, but teachers are experts at communicating with children. This way, students are more likely to understand and retain the information.”
In 2007, the Upper Arlington Fire Division reached out to just under 15,500 Upper Arlington residents, including 1,948 adults and 13,521 children. The Fire Safety Program is not only a program in UA schools, but also in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, older adult communities and churches. If you would like to schedule a Fire Safety Education event, please call the Fire Division at 583-5100.
Updated 8/08
Fire Division
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5100
www.ua-ohio.net
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