The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute is always looking for ways to educate its community about fire safety, and this past Saturday they targeted possibly the most important group -- kids.
For eight years, the institute has held an exhibit as part of Maryland Day, a day-long celebration at the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md.
MFRI's Larry Preston said that of the thousands of participants expected to take part in the exhibit; most of them would be young children.
"We find sometimes that if you can drive the kids into being interested, they bring that interest to their parents," he said.
As young as three, the young passers-by toured the fire safety house, put out a small controlled fire with a fire extinguisher and observed a sprinkler demonstration.
With smiles on their faces and sweets and balloons in hand, the exhibit proved that learning about fire safety can indeed be fun.
"They seem to buy into it," Preston said of the kids. "If you gear it so they can do some fun things, they'll probably learn something along the way."
Ray Hodgson, a coordinator with MFRI, said the event has always been a big success. "This has always been a big draw for everybody, especially kids," he said. "If anything, it allows them to bring it into their adult life."
Over at the fire safety house -- a trailer with mock rooms displaying fire dos and don'ts -- Evelyn Graf of the Anne Arundel Volunteer Fire Fighters Association explained how the concept works.
"I first ask the kids questions outside of the house to try to get things out of them," she said. "We don't tell them anything, we ask them."
She said that they quickly catch on, picking out dangers such as candles, wire underneath rugs and paper by the fireplace.
Graf added that the lessons go past fire safety alone, touching on the importance of wearing a bike helmet and how to deal with emergencies. "We try to make them aware," she said. "It's public information for life safety."
Preston, however, said that while the trailer gets a lot of traffic, the main attraction for most kids -- and some adults -- is the extinguisher. He noted that people rarely get the opportunity to use their household extinguisher and that for some it's a chance to get that experience.
"The big attraction is always the extinguisher," he said. "It's good to put these things in people's hands before the emergency strikes."
As is the goal of the event, the activities, along with a fire safety-themed "goodie bag," put a progressive spin on fire prevention education.
Get more information about the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at MFRI.org.
