- Exeter Volunteer Fire
Department Junior Fire Patrol graduating class included (back row, left to
right): Volunteer Marv Swanson, Ben Bartu, Braden Capek, Christopher
Kelch, Katelyn Babula, Olivea Swanson and Volunteer Ed Mark. Front row
from the left are Volunteer Richard Erdkamp, Kole Svec, Casey Underwood and
Volunteer Hope Strate.
Volunteer Marv Swanson
opens the door and shines a flashlight as Christopher Kelch crawls through a
simulated smoked filled room.
Braden Capek tries on the
breathing apparatus at the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department Junior Fire
Patrol. Watching him on the right are Kole Svec and Casey Underwood (far
right).
These sixth graders let
their buddy Ben Bartu try on the fire gear first. From the left are
Braden Capek, Bartu, Kole Svec and Casey Underwood.
Every fall the Exeter
Volunteer Fire Department hosts a Junior Fire Patrol classes during Fire Safety
Month.
Part education and part
training, the fifth and sixth graders from Exeter Milligan love the program.
“They’re learning valuable life skills for not only now, but when they have
families of their own. It’s a fun class but at the end of the day I want
them to remember this could actually save someone in their families lives,”
explained co-instructor Hope Strate.
This is
the sixteenth time that the Exeter Volunteer Fire Department has sponsored
the Junior Fire Patrol for area students. This year was the first time
the class started it’s biannual rotation including fifth and sixth graders.
The fire department hosts
the program at the Exeter Fire Hall and started in September this year so
that colder weather could be avoided for the outdoor activities. During the
sessions the students develop a fire escape plan individualized to their home,
learn about fire hazards in the home, learn burn prevention and first aid, they
experience using a fire extinguisher to put out a fire along with the
opportunity to aim a fire hose and shoot the water cannons on one of the
trucks.
An important lesson the
kids learn is about the damage that arson causes and how to prevent fires
inside and outside. Exeter Volunteer Fire Department member Ed Mark designed
the program in 1998 to keep the students and the community safe. Mark
researched educational materials and designed the program for the Fire Department
to approve. He serves as the Chairman of the Junior Fire Patrol and
co-instructor with Strate.
The students are
required to attend every one of the four sessions and perform each
assignment if they want to achieve the rank of junior fire marshal. Some of the
assignments are fun, like running the water hoses on the department trucks,
while others, like crawling through a room full of artificial smoke, are a much
greater challenge.
If the students pass the
final written exam, attend all the meetings and complete the other requirements
then they become a junior fire marshal of the Exeter Fire Department.
After so many years of
watching students take the junior fire patrol course Mark is still amazed at
the students, "Every year they grab the information. The intensity level
is amazing. They just want to learn. We have great kids every year."
The department received a
donation of pizza from Casey’s for the graduation celebration on Monday,
October 7.
Three of the students had
perfect attendance and passed all of the requirements to become junior fire
marshals. They were Olivea Swanson, Braden Capek and Ben Bartu. Others in
the class were Kole Svec, Casey Underwood, Christopher Kelch, and Katelyn
Babula.
The department has seen benefits that
weren’t realized for a few years. Mark noted, “The seeds of
long ago are growing to continue helping our community prosper.”
Several active members of
the fire department were graduates of the Junior Fire Patrol program.
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