Resources from Mobile Concepts

“House” teaches fire-safety tips
Campbell County firefighters open mobile classroom

By Cindy Schroeder, The Cincinnati Enquirer
 
FORT THOMAS- A 32-foot mobile classroom has become Campbell County firefighters’ latest weapon in preventing fire-related deaths.
 
After months of fund raising, the Campbell County Firefighters Educational Association unveiled its $38,000 Kids Safety House during Fourth of July festivities in Fort Thomas’ Tower Park.
 
“I foresee it being used quite a bit at schools, shopping centers, day cares, festivals – anywhere you find people and kids,” said Lt. John Henderson, a Bellevue firefighter and chairman of the county firefighters association’s education committee.
 
The mobile house features child-sized rooms, a full-sized kitchen and safety devices ranging from a portable fire extinguisher to a telephone for practice in making emergency calls.
 
Other features include a working microwave oven to teach children how to safely handle hot water, a TV and VCR to show safety videos, and anon-toxic smoke machine that allows children to practice staying low when escaping a fire.
 
“We can heat up the door on the second floor, so children can practice going out on the fire escape,” Henerdson said.
 
The kitchen also has 10-foot ceilings, so that adults can stand in the house to learn safety tips, such as why baking soda and a pan lid should be used to extinguish a fire instead of flour.
 
“You don’t want to use flour to put out a fire because it’ll cause the fire to explode in your face,” Henderson said.
 
“I think (safety houses) are the greatest thing in the world, if you use the,” said Dave Manley of the Kentucky Fire Marshal’s Office. “If you teach these young fellows what to do, they’ll teach Mom and Dad.”
 
Manley said Kentucky has had 52 fire-related deaths this year. In 1994, 122 people died by fire in the commonwealth.

“Compared to other states, Kentucky’s quite high in the number of fire-related deaths,” Henderson said. “That’s why (the National Fire Protection Association) is pushing for a Learn Not to Burn program in every school system in Kentucky.”

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