By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Fire won't wait, plan your escape. That's the theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week, a national safety campaign to help educate children and adults on how to stay safe in the event of a fire. Great Bend Fire Inspector Mike Smith said it's all about practicing ahead of a real fire.
"Fire's not going to wait for you to get out, so basically, plan your escape before it happens," he said. "Everyone is supposed to do home escape plans is what we teach the kids. They do that with their family and practice it, so if the real deal happens, they already know how to get out and where they're supposed to meet."
Fire Prevention Week runs each October, with this year's week falling between Sunday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 15. That Monday, Great Bend fire personnel will make eight different visits as part of their effort to stop at every preschool and kindergarten in Great Bend. Fire truck rides stopped many years ago, but young students will still get an up-close look at the big red trucks.
This year is special in that the firefighters will also be performing a skit at the Great Bend Rec Center on Stone Street. All Great Bend students grades K-6 will be bussed to one of six performances. The fire firefighters once performed the skit annually, but now perform every few years.