The group, who are part of the CTC’s EMT program, taught students essentials like how to call 9-1-1 and “stop, drop and roll.”
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The event coordinators — Caleb Wirth, McKenzie Rucker and Ashlyn Sergent — said they got their idea for the program because of statistical data that found a high number of fatalities among children in fires.
“There were many statistics about people dying in fires and children dying in fires who tend to go in closets and hide,” she said. “We just wanted to raise their awareness and help them know what to do so it prevents those deaths from happening.”
The CTC students set up several interactive stations where the children were able practice giving information to 9-1-1 and learn how to identify exits they could use at home to escape in the event of a fire.
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All CTC seniors are required to produce a project for their senior year, Wirth said, because of their involvement in Tech Prep Showcase, hosted by Sinclair Community College.
Once the group had their idea, they reached out to Lincoln Elementary, as well as the Springfield Fire/Rescue Division, who were also on site to help teach kids more about what to do during a fire. Kids had the opportunity to see the tools firefighters use to save lives and ask them questions.
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The group believes the fire safety information got through to the kids, Sergent said.
“I think they learned a lot,” she said. “They all seemed pretty interested in it.”
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