Houston fire marshals Vincent Pulido and George Hernandez on Tuesday preached the importance of fire safety and prevention, with a little help from their puppet friends.
The entertaining but crucial message was presented to PreK students in the Southwest Campus cafeteria. The presentation took the form of a puppet show with messages using children’s songs and interactive performances. What followed was a brief question-and-answer session.
The firefighters told students to never play with matches, "crawl like a baby" out the door of a smoky house, make sure their house is equipped with smoke detectors and to “Stop, Drop and Roll” if their clothes catch fire.
“Get low, get out of the house and stay out,” Mr. Pulido said. “Don’t go back for your favorite shoes, toys or stuffed animals.”
One student demonstrated the “Stop, Drop and Roll” routine and, with a little coaching from Mr. Pulido, completed the task.
Guidelines for parents include making matches and lighters “off limits" and talking to children about the good (cooking, heat) and bad (accidents, burns) uses of fires. According to the Houston fire department, children set 20 percent to 40 percent of all fires. In Houston, children under 10 set more fires than any other age group and that up to 81 percent of children who have played with fire will do it again if not provided the proper education.
October 5-11 was designated Fire Prevention Week but these tips should be followed at all times.
For more information go to the U.S. Fire Administration website.