Adobe Acres Elementary School
by Bill Chapel

Today, March 20, 2008, Dick Pederson, Larry Allen, and I took our cold-air Smokey and the Smokey fire engine down to south Albuquerque to the Adobe Acres Elementary School.  There we put on a demonstration about fire safety.                                                  

We were joined by the Bernalillo County Fire Department who also put on a fabulous demonstration.  Thanks guys for all you do.

The children attending Adobe Acres Elementary are mostly Hispanic with the younger grades struggling with learning the English language.  Typically what I do is introduce Smokey (the image), talk a little about him, his age, and where he came from.  Then I talk about fire prevention, and ask questions from the group and then turn this over to the other side which is often the structural fire side of fire protection.  But, because of the language barrier, this was difficult to do, but thanks to one of our Bernalillo fire fighters, who spoke fluent Spanish, and translated everything, the day was saved--we were all impressed--children and adults alike.

 

The Bernalillo County Fire Department came with three units: an hydraulic ladder unit, a booster-pumper unit (sort of like our old engine--but newer of course) and an EMT Unit.  
 

And, as part of the Bernalillo County Fire Department's presentation, a fire fighter demonstrated the basics of early entry into a burning home.  He explained to the kids how a fire fighter with his protective gear, breathing apparatus, helmet and sounding like Darth Vader from Star Wars might actually scare them into hiding from them, which has actually happened. He then emphasized to "reach out and grab the fire fighter for help."  The kids loved it.  

I really felt good about what we did today, heck, I feel good everyday when it comes to Smokey.  Thanks everyone.