Fourth-grade students at Sulphur Springs Community School in Canyon Country are learning how they can give back to the community, and on Thursday, they were able to benefit their local fire stations.
“This semester, we chose the firemen because they do a lot for our community throughout the year, and sometimes they’re not always remembered until there’s an incident or a fire,” said teacher Kristi Hilton. “Something that at 9 and 10, what are they able to do to impact their community; so, we’ve been focusing on it’s not all about you, but what can you do.”
Fire stations 104 and 132 visited the school so students could give them the 96 goodie bags, filled with water, Gatorade, protein bars, crackers, cookies and gum — enough for all the firefighters who serve their local community.
“This will come in handy during all the wildfires because we pack our packs full of this kind of stuff for energy,” fire Engineer Ryan Golphenee told the kids.
The students were then able to learn more about the firefighters, including what their typical day is like, the difference between a fire engine, fire truck and patrol, and all the tools they use to keep the community safe.
Capt. Kirk Nelson led the discussion, giving every kid the chance to ask questions.
“The truck is like a big tool box,” Nelson said. “Our job is to cut a hole on the roof to let the smoke out. When we get fires, they’re in the brush, up in the hills, in houses, and a fire engine will go put those fires out.”
Then, kids got a tour of each of the vehicles, learning which ones help firefighters complete different tasks.
Golphenee let kids hold the “jaws of life,” or “can openers” as he called them, explained the need for two drivers on a fire truck and discussed the tools on the truck, including the various ladders they carry for different situations.
“It has every tool you can imagine for kind any situation we might be in,” Golphenee said.
Firefighters then raced to put on all of their gear, illustrating to the kids how fast they would need to get dressed in an emergency.
“We train to get in and out of (our gear) quick,” Golphenee said. “They’re supposed to get into (all of their gear) in one minute, then get the air on in another minute. Everything has to be buckled up, zipped up, because we don’t want any air to be able to get in there.”
