To adults, firemen are heroes who help protect the community from the danger of fire. But for young children, the sight of a person in a large overcoat and a big tank on his back can conjure up images of a monster.
To help children learn what adults already know, kids from the Fort McPherson play group took a trip to the Fort McPherson Fire Station to learn about firemen and fire safety.
Anne Murray, parent education specialist, U.S. Army Garrison Family Advocacy Program, said the idea came about after learning of a story where children trapped inside a burning house ran and hid from firemen.
"They (firemen) look different and it can be frightening," she said. "We wanted the kids to see them in uniform, to see they are the same person."
During the visit, Fort McPherson firefighter Edward Hudson took multiple opportunities to stress this point.
During each stage of donning his firefighting gear, he stopped to let the kids see that despite the changes in his appearance, he was still "Fireman Ed." "Look, its still me," he said after removing his mask.
"This mask may make me talk a little funny, but I'm still the same person."
Although the children were initially afraid, by the end of the day they were taking pictures with Hudson and Sparky, the post fire dog mascot. Karen Elam, spouse of Lt. Col. Mark Elam, Army National Guard advisor to U.S. Army Forces Command G-2, took her son Zeke, 2, to the outing, and said it was very beneficial for her son. "This was his first time near a fire truck," she said.
"I hope he learned to recognize firemen as a helper, and a friend there to help." Seeing and riding in the fire truck, seeing the equipment used at fires and interacting with firemen created an educational environment that was anything but a school-like setting.
"Every now and then we try to do something informative that educates subtly through play," Murray said. That type of environment helped Diana Gonzalez, spouse of Pvt. Juan Gonzalez Sr., USAG, get their son, Juan Jr., 2, involved. "Its hard to get Juan interested in things," Diana said.
"He likes cars and trucks, and this caught his attention." Besides getting over the fear of firemen, the opportunity allowed the children to learn about fire safety, prevention and awareness.
In addition to stressing children not play with matches, Hudson also taught children how to properly get out of a house (by staying low to the ground and crawling) and how to stop, drop and roll to put out fire on their clothes. Afterward, the children colored pictures of firemen to further reinforce the lesson of firemen as friends. "We wanted to teach the kids something," Hudson said. "We want to make sure they understand fire safety."
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