Oct. 4, 2007 — St. Croix elementary school children will get more than one lesson in fire safety rules with station visits, school visits and a fire safety jamboree during Fire Prevention Week, starting Sunday.
"We are teaching fire safety to kids in a fun, entertaining, informative and educational way," said activities coordinator Gregory Williams, a St. Croix deputy inspector.
On the 40th anniversary of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America sponsored the first National Fire Prevention Day to stress its importance to the public; it was expanded to Fire Prevention Week in 1922.
St. Croix Fire Inspector Roberto Martinez, Gregory Williams and Serena Williams from St. Thomas Fire Services will kick off the week Sunday with an appearance on Talk 2 TV show with Amos Carty.
At 9 a.m. Sunday, there will be a church service dedicated to firefighters at Speak the Word Ministries.
Later Monday, firemen and fire service staff from all four fire stations compete in a coed softball game 3 p.m. at Canegata Ball Park.
Station visits, school visits and open houses are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Schools, public and private schools, have made reservations to bring the children to the stations for tours and talks on fire safety. For the school visits, firemen will bring the fire trucks and let the children check out the cabs and learn how the gauges work.
At Herbert Grigg Home for the elderly there will be a seniors' fire safety discussion at 10 a.m. Wednesday, and later that day a talk at Flamboyant Gardens Home for the elderly is on the agenda.
Also on Wednesday, a motorcade with fire trucks and ambulances will take place beginning at 6 p.m. in Christiansted, moving along Queen Mary Highway to Frederiksted.
One of the highlights of the week is a fire safety jamboree at the Randall "Doc" James Racetrack beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 11. Characters such as Smokey the Bear, Crash Test Dummies Vince and Larry, Dora the Explorer and local character Tommy the Starfish will mix and mingle with the students.
EMS units will also be on hand giving CPR demonstrations. The children will get snacks, plastic firefighters' hats and coloring books.
The week will wrap up with a fire service fun day Oct. 13 beginning at 11 a.m. at Renaissance Park in Estate Anguilla, with relay races, bucket brigades, firefighters olympics, dummy drag, obstacle courses and races putting on firefighting gear.
"Feel the Heat" will introduce some local government officials to the challenges of firefighting. Throughout the day there will be demonstrations such as the proper use of fire extinguishers, CPR and first aid. There will be games, give-aways and prizes.
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