by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Falls Central School second and third grade students in the auditorium were dead quiet sitting in the dark waiting… Suddenly the doors banged open and firefighters in full gear, flashlights waving in every direction entered.
Their voices, muffled in their respirators, were heard calling out. It was eerie, scary and moving. It didn’t take much imagination to envision being in the dark inside a burning building waiting to be rescued by one of them. The reason for such a dramatic example is children have died in burning buildings because they have hidden in fear from the firefighter who comes to save them, believing the rescuer to be a monster. “Behind that gear is somebody’s brother, cousin or father,” Hoosick Fire Department Assistant Chief Robert Bornt told the students. It is not someone to fear. Once on the stage, the firefighters removed their helmets and respirators so the students could see their faces.
The demonstration was part of a fire safety program presented to students in grades k through eight by volunteer firefighters from the Hoosick, North Hoosick and Hoosick Falls Fire Departments on Thursday, April 9. The students learned the importance of holding fire drills at home and having an escape
plan and a designated meeting place outside the home. They were warned they should never go back into a burning building for any reason. They learned about smoke detectors and home fire safety. Some students came on stage to demonstrate what they had previously learned about dropping, covering their faces with their hands and rolling if their clothing is on fire.
The well prepared presentation included the fire dog Sparky in a video as well as demonstrations. Always a hit was Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Davendonis and his dog Inferno. Inferno’s job is to search a burned building and locate accelerants, if there are any, that may have caused the fire.
