Posted by: Bethany on 02/06/2008 03:24 PM
Updated by: Bethany on 02/07/2008 12:15 AM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
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Smokey Bear Visits San Andreas Elementary for Fire Safety Presentation ~ By Bethany Monk
San Andreas, C.A… Fire season may be a few months away, but Smokey Bear is determined to keep fire safety fresh in the minds of young people. On Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008, Smokey visited San Andreas Elementary school where he reminded youngsters about fire prevention and safety.
Tuolumne-Calaveras Cal Fire and Stanislaus National Forest members, along with the famous bear, visit 30 elementary schools in the Mother Lode each year educating more than 3000 children, according to Nancy Longmore, fire prevention specialist for Tuolumne-Calaveras Cal Fire.
“It’s a program that really pays off,” Longmore said, noting the group’s Smokey Bear visits to Calaveras and Tuolumne county fairs. The kids who have been through the Smokey program, in their respective schools, are able to answer all of the fire safety “quiz questions” available at the fairs, she added.
“After they (Cal Fire and the U.S. Department of Agriculture) started doing these programs, fire incidents involving children went way down,” she said of statistics in the foothills.
Tiffanie Sachse, a ranger with the Stanislaus National Forest Service, was busy Wednesday teaching the San Andreas youngsters how to protect themselves from smoke.
“Cover your whole face …. Even your nose,” she told the students, “so you won’t breathe in the smoke.”
“If you have a little brother or sister (on fire) knock them down,” she said, emphasizing the “stop, drop and roll” technique.
Fire season typically begins in late May or early June in the Calaveras-Tuolumne areas, Longmore said. “This year’s didn’t end until the beginning of December.” There were more than 300 vegetation fires in the Tuolumne-Calaveras areas during 2007, causing $1.8 million in damages, according to Tuolumne-Calaveras Cal Fire statistics.
While students in kindergarten through third-grade learn about fire safety from Smokey Bear, students in fourth-grade and above participate in interactive 911 emergency drills during the Cal Fire school presentation, Longmore said.
Several students waited in line to give Smokey a hug after Wednesday presentation.Seeing the kids’ expressions when they see Smokey is priceless, Sachse said.
For more information on fire prevention tips and safety visit www.smokeybear.com.
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