By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Fire Prevention Week is approaching, and crews from the Great Bend Fire Department will be making their rounds to elementary schools to teach students the dangers of fire and ways to prevent accidents. Firefighters will bring fire trucks and equipment to perform a 30-minute program.
The skit, for all students kindergarten through 6th grade, is something even Great Bend Fire Chief Brent Smith looks forward to.
"For the most part, our guys have done the skit long enough to know what the kids like and don't like," said Smith. "They figure out ways to make that work. The first time the kids see it will be the first time I see it. It's exciting for me to see what they come up with."
Fire Prevention Week begins Oct. 6, and presentations at grade schools will begin Monday, Oct. 7. This year’s theme is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!” Skits performed in the past have demonstrated the dangers of grease fires in the kitchen.
"It catches their attention," said Smith. "I won't say scare them, but we want them to remember why we don't do certain things. Some of that requires us to do that skit that shows what water and grease will do on a stove."
Each kindergarten student will receive a fire hat. The first graders will get a pop-up fire truck with safety tips. Second graders will get a growth chart they can hang at home to measure their growth throughout the years.