Fire Inspections and Back to School Safety Reminders

The new school year is in session at some schools – and will soon be starting for other schools in our area. That means new classes and different activities – but it also means re-familiarizing yourself with the building. 

Division Chief of Fire Prevention Troy Haase tells us firefighters aren’t going to be waiting long before checking out the schools. He says “the second week of September we’ll start doing fire inspections, fire drills, and the Survive Alive house. We’re going to do it a little different this year. A lot of times in the past we did it multiple times at a school because of scheduling and stuff. We’re going to try to do it – go to one school  one time, do the drill, do the inspection, then do Survive Alive with the fifth graders.”

The Survive Alive training helps students learn the basics of fire prevention and safety – and shows them how to escape in the case of a house fire. 

Haase also reminds people to take things slow when driving around school zones, pointing out that “this time of the year now, there’s a lot of yellow flashing signs that say School Zone. And that means fifteen miles per hour, so it’s important that people are obeying those signs and keeping an eye out. Lot of places they have crossing guards to get people across, but other places they don’t. And you can expect kids to dart out anywhere.”