Buck students get the facts on fire safety

Elie Karkini puts on all the gear that firefighters wear so children won’t be afraid.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

See more photos from the fire department's visit here.

Smoke detectors on every floor. An escape plan in case of a fire. Don’t play with matches. These are some of the lessons that Valley Stream firefighters shared with students during their visit to the William L. Buck School last week.

The Valley Stream Fire Department has been visiting several local elementary and nursery schools for Fire Prevention Month. Last Thursday and Friday, firefighters brought a engine, an ambulance and the smoke trailer to the Buck School.

Matt Roth, a firefighter with Engine Company No. 4 and a teaching assistant at the school, talked about the different components of a fire truck. He showed the different size hoses that are used and discussed the gear that firefighters put on. Lance Palma, meanwhile, gave children a tour of the ambulance.

After students got to see the various trucks, they then went to the Fire Department’s smoke trailer. There, they heard from Gary Shaw, who heads the fire safety program with former Chief Ron Garofalo. Shaw spoke to students about the dangers of playing with matches and lighters. He told them to know two ways out of their home. And he reminded them that when they escape a fire, never go back inside. “People get killed all the time going back in for pets, for jewelry, for stuff that can be replaced,” he said. “That’s such an important thing — once you’re out, stay out.”

Shaw noted that a firefighter’s first priority is saving lives. If they know everyone is safely out of a building, they can then concentrate on putting the fire out.

The trailer has a heated inside door, so children can feel it and understand that when a door is hot, it is not a safe way out. The trailer then fills with artificial smoke and the students are told to crawl low, and then helped out a back window by a Valley Stream firefighter.