The biggest time of the year for the bureau of fire Prevention begins mid-September and lasts through the entire months of October and November, due to the unique fire prevention program provided by personnel with Central Emergency Services. The program uses puppets to bring the message forward to children in grades kindergarten the 3rd grade level. 2002 will represent the seventh consecutive year for this type of program. This is the only program in the State of Alaska that combines the use of Fire Safety Clowns and puppets to bring the message to younger children and older adults. The following represents the time and effort taken to make the program a success.
Fire Prevention Month
September 15 through November 30.
- Providing puppet shows for grades kindergarten through 3 and classroom fire public education for grades 4-6. Produce letters of introduction, regarding fire prevention week, including special activities conducted by this department, for delivery to all the schools, senior centers, and day-care facilities within our fire district.
- Provide schedule notices, follow-up schedule adjustments, and final schedule assignments for puppet shows for all schools and deliver letters. (Grades kindergarten through 3)
- Notify all existing and prospective puppeteers (paid, on-call, explorers, and spouses.) that Fire Prevention Month rapidly approaches, allowing approximately 30 days notification.
- Produce puppet show practice schedules.
- Finalize and hand out puppet show schedules to puppeteers.
- Provide scheduling notices, follow-up schedule adjustments, and final schedule assignments for classroom fire public education (Grades 4-6)
The following is a list indicating the number and locations for puppets shows done on an annual basis.
Puppet Shows
- 5 Elementary Schools
- 2 Private Schools
- 5 Day-Care Faculties
- 3 Senior Centers (Sterling, Soldotna, & Funny River)
- 3 Kenai Peninsula showings (Anchor Point, Homer and Kenai)
Upon requests, shows have been done in Anchorage, with the approval of the chief and Borough Mayor, while letters of acknowledgement goes to the Anchorage Mayor.
Puppet show time frames
- (27)-45 minute shows at 19 locations.
- Set-up and take down totaling 1-1/2 hours per facility.
- A Minimum of 4 puppeteers is required to do a success puppet show.
Each class, grades K-3, receive packets containing numerous pieces of handout material, which include, but not limited to, brochures, stickers, pencils (containing safety messages, stick-on badges, either coloring items for the younger children or safety puzzles and quizzes for the older generation.
Classroom presentations for grades 4 through 6
Research has shown that puppet entertainment is usually geared only to a certain grade level or age group. Therefore, grades 4-6 are treated on a separate level of education concerning fire safety. Each classroom, within each school, is provided with a basic one-on-one education. The education consists of videos to help enhance the message to the older student, providing class participation, handout material, quizzes, and handling questions from the students. Scheduling of over 26 classrooms within 5 major elementary and 3 private schools provides a challenge when attempting to schedule puppet shows at different times for the same school. Each presentation is geared to last approximately 45 minutes, with an additional ten minutes allowed to travel to and form each of the classrooms.
Approximately 8 days is needed to complete attend grades 4-6 within the 8 schools, while allowing multiple days to visit all schools (private and public), senior centers, day-care facilities, or any other engagement.
Kids Don’t Float Program
This is a program, working in conjunction with the Kenai Peninsula Coalition of Safe Kids, which was originally developed by Bob Painter, now chief of the Homer Fire Department, about 6 years ago. Since that time, the State of Alaska and the United State Coast Guard Auxiliary have taken over the program due to its overwhelming size and the increase funding required to maintain the program from then on. In the beginning, the bureau’s job was to designate those locations within our fire district for erecting and posting access to the usage of PFD’s (personal floatation devices) Presently the responsibility of the department is to supply and maintain PFD’s to each of the 20 or so locations at the beginning of each spring season. Sam Evanoff has been delegated the responsibility of communicating with all known locations and agencies, to provide the necessary PFD replacements at the beginning and during the remainder of the season. Information is funneled back into fire prevention on the number of replacements required during the present year and what’s required for the following year. This information is then passed onto United States Coast Guard personnel located in Juneau.
Car Safety Seat Inspections
This is another program that CES shares with the Kenai Peninsula Coalition of Safe Kids. About six years ago, several civic and professional individuals received a two-day car seat safety awareness class in Soldotna, spearheaded by the GMC Corporation, to provide information and education to the community concerning the correct installation of child car seats. Today, and several hours of additional training later, members of the community, including the three area fire departments, now conduct monthly child car seat safety inspection stations at various locations on the Kenai Peninsula. Each of the three fire departments schedules inspection stations on a rotating basis. Upon designate dates, certified technicians (including those from the fire departments) gather at the location and assist parents who want the best protection for their children, while riding in the car. This doesn’t entail the “drive up to the fire station inspections”. Each event happens early in the afternoon, about 1:00 PM and lasts for approximately three hours. With the advantage of hosting car seat inspection indoors at the stations, weather doesn’t become an issue. An average of 13 to 30 car seats will be inspected. Remembering that 9 out of 10, and sometimes 10 out of 10 car seats are installed incorrectly. The message to the parents is education, making them aware of the correct installation of their child into that specific child car seat.
