Some area children have been learning what to do in the event of a fire at their home. Danville Firefighters used the I & I Firefighters Association’s Safe House to give the youngsters a life-like experience.
Fire Lieutenant Neil Yelenick explains how the Safe House works….
{AUDIO: ‘’The Safe House has three different rooms. It has a conference area that we have seating for that we can talk people through in the kitchen area. And then it has a living room area – and then it has a bedroom area. All three rooms have the capability of being smoked with a fog machine. It’s safe to use so kids can have the experience of being in the smoke without being in true smoke.’’}
Lieutenant Yelenick adds the children are given several safety tips…
Audio Player{AUDIO: ‘’Our typical run-through is they come into the kitchen area, and we talk about kitchen safety – being around microwaves, being around stoves, using hot water, how pans are supposed to be – not running into their handles. We talk about the living room and having a fireplace…not having any toys close to the fireplace and don’t play up there. And in the bedroom we talk about what happens if you have a fire in the middle of the night and how to get out.’’}
(‘Smoke’ pours into the living room of the Safe House.)
The Safe House sees a lot of traffic according to Yelenick….
Audio Player{AUDIO: ‘’We do run a lot of kids through here and it’s always a lot of fun. But it does mean something to them. And we come through here every year and they (say) ‘Hey, I’ve gone through that before.’ And we ask them questions and they remember ‘Well yow, we know we don’t go back into a place after we’ve got out. And we know to get down low because the smoke travels high.’ – And they remember from what we’ve told them in the past – how to get out and stay out. And it means a lot to us that they are paying attention.’’}
Although the I & I Safe House is stored and maintained at the Danville Fire Department’s Station 3 on Griffin Street, it is used by other fire departments in both East Central Illinois and West Central Indiana.
Over the 4th of July holiday period Danville Firefighters took it to an event at American Legion Post 210.
