CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea - U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys firefighters provided an educational and fun time to 17 volunteers from the local Young Women's Christian Association and 13 disabled teenagers on Jan. 4 here.
The visit was in response to a request from a leader at the Neul Hae Rang School.
School general secretary Yu Hwi-kyong said that Camp Humphreys firefighter Yu Han-Yeol has volunteered at the school for two and a half years to provide fire and safety education. During a recent visit, they asked Yu if they could tour the fire station.
"He came out with his equipment and taught safety procedures during fire hazards to our students," Yu said. "We took the opportunity to ask him to give us a tour of Humphreys fire station."
During their tour of the Humphreys fire station, firefighters taught fire-safety procedures as well as fire prevention techniques.
The first part of training took place in the disaster simulator, which looks like a regular trailer from the outside, but inside it can simulate a number of fire incidents complete with flame and smoke. For this scenario firefighters wanted to teach the children how to exit a burning room. They filled the inside with smoke and directed the students follow the exit signs and escape to safety.
Next, the participants toured the fire station. The children were happy to see many kinds of fire trucks, such as the command car, rescue vehicle, pump truck, water tanker and the ladder truck.
The students also watched several fire safety videos and learned how to be safe during incidents and what to do in those situations. After the video, firefighter Choe Song-ho asked the children questions to see if they'd learned. He put in his best effort to ensure the students understood the seriousness of fire and how to stay safe.
After the videos the students learned how to use a fire extinguisher. The firefighters called up a video of a fire on a television screen and they students had to put out the fire with the extinguishers. This proved to be the students' favorite activity of the trip.
Following the activities Yu explained how the Neul Hae Rang School program works.
"This program is for disabled students. They were selected from special classes from each school in Pyeongtaek City. The YWCA has been running this program for the past eight years and the program has received much support from the citizens of Pyeongtaek," she said.
Managed by the YWCA and hosted by the Pyeongtaek City Office of Education, the school helps disabled children during summer and winter holidays. Neul Hae Rang means "Always with the sun" in Korean. The name reflects the school's philosophy that wishes children to have a bright future.
Yu said that the school tries to pair each student with a single volunteer during field trips.
"Each group has seven students, and we have two groups. It was great that the students were matched with the volunteers one to one," Yu said. "The volunteers consisted of a wide range of people, from middle school students to adults. They usually take care of the students and play with them during class."
One of the volunteers, Lee Yu-ri, a student at Chungbuk Health & Science University said she enjoyed to visit and the chance to be with the children.
"I was excited to take part in the outdoor activities with the children through this volunteer program," Lee said. "Seeing the variety of fire trucks was a great experience for us. Some interesting activities included conducting the fire drill and using the fire extinguisher."
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