Brooklyn Center Firefighters Take Lifesaving Messages to Schools
Hands shot up and voices rang out inside Brooklyn Center Elementary School one day last week. A group of about 50 first graders was responding to a question from Brooklyn Center Fire Department Deputy Fire Marshall Brandon Gautsch.
Brooklyn Center firefighters talk with first graders at Brooklyn Center Elementary School.
“Every October is Fire Prevention Week, so in Brooklyn Center we do it over the course of a month, just because of the number of schools we have in the city,” said Gautsch. Him and his group of fellow firefighters will reach more than 1,000 kids as they talk about fire safety, smoke alarms, what to do if the alarm goes off, and what to expect when firefighters arrive for a call.
“The more you practice it, when it becomes game time, for lack of better words, your body reacts appropriately to it, you’re going to have that mindset of knowing what to do, and not having panic set in, and not knowing how to react properly,” said Gautsch.
Firefighters put on all of their turn-out gear for the kids, and the children even got to come and give the suited-up firefighter a high-five to feel more comfortable with what he looked and sounded like.
“We want people to be as prepared as possible,” said Gautsch. “We don’t want anything bad to happen to anybody, so continue learning, even if it’s just change the batteries twice a year in the smoke detectors, putting matches away, just little things that can keep you safe so you don’t end up in the news and we don’t have a bad deal.”
