NA Fire Department takes fire prevention awareness to kids’ camps

As part of its public relations campaign, the New Amsterdam Fire Service is taking fire prevention education to children aged five to 13, with a focus on firefighting awareness.
On Sunday, children from the village of Sandvoort, West Canje, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), visited the fire station, where officers engaged them on fire awareness, prevention and firefighting.
Station Officer with the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) in New Amsterdam, Shannan Crawford, told this publication that one of the duties of the fire service is to educate the public in the role and responsibility of the fire service, as well as the fire prevention and fire safety activities, with the aim of preventing fires, because it is always better to prevent a fire than fight a fire.
“We believe that once we educate the public, the general public, the likelihood of reducing fires will have a great effect. Now, as part of that population activity, we have incorporated educating students and children. We have always educated children by visiting schools, by doing fire drills, fire safety talks, and evacuation drills. But in the last few years, two years or so, that has been expanded to what we call Kids Camp,” he explained while noting that the camps are where the officers go into communities and engage students at both the secondary and primary levels.
Crawford said the fire department has been focusing on providing fire safety education from a tender age.
“Children have a tendency to spread the message to their parents, their siblings, their neighbours, and so forth, as well as in the school itself. So that has been an ongoing activity he said, responding to the reason for the visit from the children from the Sandvoort Seventh-day Adventist Church on Sunday.
According to Crawford, one of the fire service’s mandates is to educate children about the fire service’s role and responsibility.
He pointed out that during outreaches like the one on Sunday, information was provided in a way that the children would be able to grasp what the job of the firefighter is, which provides a sense of responsibility for the child.
Apart from demonstrations showing what firefighters do, they also spoke of some of the responsibilities of the fire service. The children were also given a tour of the control room – where all calls are received.
The children also got the opportunity to see how the fighters are dispatched, giving them an appreciation for firefighting. They were also familiarised with some of the equipment of the fire truck. The tour also gave the children a first-hand look at the operations of the firefighters when on a fire scene.
“For all kids’ camps, we give them a certificate to let them know that we appreciate the visit, and something for them to use and to treasure as they grow up. They can recall that they made a visit to the fire station, or they were part of a kids’ camp. Also, we give them a booklet.”
The booklet looks at some Do’s and Don’ts about firefighting and fire safety.
Crawford said the information is for kids but can be shared with members in the home and school mates.