{"id":6894,"date":"2013-08-07T09:04:36","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T13:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=6894"},"modified":"2013-08-06T22:29:59","modified_gmt":"2013-08-07T02:29:59","slug":"after-smoke-clears-at-camp-a-clear-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=6894","title":{"rendered":"After smoke clears at camp, a clear success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day of fire-safety activities in Coatesville rates thumbs-up from kids<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Coatesville<\/a>

Coatesville Police Officer Stephen Galletta demonstrates the fun of fingerprinting at “Fire Safety Day Camp.”<\/p><\/div>\n

Coatesville first-responders traded the shrieks of emergency sirens for the shrieks of excited children Tuesday as \u201cFire Safety Day Camp\u201d enlivened the Coatesville Community Center.<\/p>\n

The young participants – more than 50 children in grades one through eight \u2013 represented a high-energy combination of the Brandywine YMCA\u2019s Coatesville Memorial Community Camp and the Community Youth and Woman\u2019s Alliance (CYWA) 2013 Coatesville Summer Camp.<\/p>\n

Pam Lewis, who directs the Coatesville Memorial Community Camp, gave the experience high marks. \u201cIt was well-planned and organized,\u201d she said. \u201cThe kids really enjoyed it, and they were well-educated about fire safety in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Pam<\/a>

Pam Lewis (center) and Firefighter Craig Weaver hand out hats and t-shirts to the “Fire Safety Day Camp” participants.<\/p><\/div>\n

Organized by the Coatesville Bureau of Fire, the daylong event featured a jam-packed schedule that included hands-on fire safety instruction, complete with a fire-safety trailer and 911 emergency phone call simulator. Stations were visited in shifts so that while some children toured an ambulance, others helped wield a hose and another group found itself trapped in a burning building \u2013 definitely one of the most popular attractions.<\/p>\n

Rented from the Kennett Square Fire Company, the fire safety trailer features a kitchen, where a fire could easily start, as well as bedrooms, where residents could get trapped. After listening to fire safety tips from Kim Mattson, a former Coatesville firefighter who now serves as the fire and life safety educator for the Thorndale Fire Company, the children got to put the advice to use when the fire alarm sounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe smoke trailer was a big hit,\u201d said Coatesville Interim Fire Chief Jim Lentz. \u201cThe trailer is designed like a home and when filled with artificial smoke, it provides a fun but educational environment where the children must \u2018stay low and go\u2019 under the smoke and feel doors for heat before they are opened.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the only one who didn\u2019t cough,\u201d said one proud 6-year-old girl. \u201cThat was my favorite part of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/a>

Participants in Coatesville’s “Fire Safety Day Camp” show off their hats and t-shirts at the Coatesville Community Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Both Lentz and Mattson said many of the kids wanted to repeat the simulation, but time was limited and other activities beckoned.<\/p>\n

Inside the community center, Coatesville Police Officer Stephen Galletta and Det. Shawn Dowds assisted the children with identification kits, explaining why having fingerprints and addresses on file can improve their safety. Galletta said some of the kids had to be encouraged to learn their \u00a0address so they could aid police in an emergency.<\/p>\n

Outside, Kevin Kistler and Ted Fosselman gave tours of a Washington Hose Co. ambulance, fielding nonstop questions about their calls, such as which one was the most exciting or the scariest.<\/p>\n

Lentz said the bureau has always tried to work with children to instill good safety practices at an early age. Kids often take the messages home to parents and inspire them to make changes, he said. Another benefit is the opportunity to forge positive bonds with the young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also important to understand that we want the children to know us, in and out of our safety equipment. We do not want them to hide from us or be scared,\u201d Lentz said.\u00a0 \u201cThis event provides an opportunity for the kids to be comfortable around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/a>

Kim Mattson, fire and life safety educator for the Thorndale Volunteer Fire Company, assists campers with their hats.<\/p><\/div>\n

By the end of the day, most of the approximately 20 adults were catching their breath as the kids were visibly comfortable, ready to repeat the activities, which rated an enthusiastic thumbs-up.<\/p>\n

Lentz said he hoped the event would help spread the word about the importance of fire safety. He said 76 smoke detectors have been installed so far this year at no cost to city residents, and more are available by calling the smoke detector hotline at 610-384-0300, ext. 3101.<\/p>\n

He expressed gratitude to the sponsors who helped make the event successful: West End Fire Company #3, \u2028Marco Fire Suppression, \u2028Coatesville Professional Firefighters IAFF L-3790, \u2028New Holland Auto Group, \u2028Washington Hose Company #1, \u202810-8 Emergency Vehicle Service, \u2028and the Kennett Square Fire Company.<\/p>\n

As a result, the kids left with lots of goodies, including some leftover pizza, fire-safety t-shirts, ID kits, \u00a0fire hats, certificates, and newly acquired knowledge. The only complaint? \u201cI like tacos better than pizza,\u201d one girl said. \u201cNah, pizza\u2019s better,\u201d a chorus of boys responded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day of fire-safety activities in Coatesville rates thumbs-up from kids By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times Coatesville first-responders traded the shrieks of emergency sirens for the shrieks of excited children Tuesday as \u201cFire Safety Day Camp\u201d enlivened the Coatesville Community Center. The young participants – more than 50 children in grades one through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}