CHAMOIS — Chamois pre-K-12 grade students enjoyed a fire safety event held at the school last Friday. The event was a collaboration between the school, Chamois Fire Protection District, Chamois PTO, and Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA). It featured multiple booths with demonstrations, activities, and information related to fire safety, disaster preparedness, and first aid.

“It was a good day,” said Chamois Fire Protection District Chief Sean Hackmann. “Students were interested and asked a lot of good questions about our trucks and equipment. We are asking parents to follow up on fire escape planning and safety at home. If families need free smoke detectors, please reach out.”

Chamois Fire Protection District personnel helped students try on bunker gear, demonstrated how various firefighting equipment is used, and answered questions about fire, gear, equipment, and firefighting.

Linn Fire Protection District provided its smoke trailer, listed as “a mobile classroom that prepares children for the unexpected experiences of fire.”

Volunteer firefighters guided students on a tour of the trailer, which is set up like a small house. They explained various ways a fire could start in a home and practical tips for minimizing risk. The trailer also simulated a house fire, during which the bedroom doorknob got hot to the touch and the room filled with smoke. Then, the children “escaped” by climbing down a ladder at the back of the trailer.

Osage Ambulance District taught hands-only CPR and gave students a tour of an ambulance. “We had a great time with Chamois Schools, providing *Hands-Only CPR* instruction, ambulance tours, and a Q&A session to local Pre-K through 12th grade students,” the district posted on Facebook. “Paramedic/Education Coordinator Kelly, along with EMTs Lisa and Chris, led the way in this wonderful opportunity to interact with our community’s future lifesavers. It’s always rewarding to share important skills and show everyone what it’s like inside an ambulance. Thank you to everyone who participated and made this event a success!”

The Osage County Health Department provided coloring pages and a game in which students knocked down “flames” with a ball. The department also provided a blank fire safety plan for families to complete together.

Osage County 911 discussed Smart 911, what to do in an emergency, and tips and tools for calling dispatch.

The Missouri Department of Conservation brought a UTV with a water unit and demonstrated hand equipment commonly used to fight brush and forest fires.

The Missouri Division of Fire Safety discussed fire safety tips and smoke detector maintenance and gave each student a water bottle with a lid shaped like a firefighter’s hat.

The Red Cross presented “Prepare with Pedro,” its introductory disaster preparedness program geared toward kindergarten through second-grade children. Red Cross personnel also discussed home, fire, tornado, and flood preparedness and response with older students. MU Extension provided bags containing literature, pens, pencils, and temporary tattoos for students to fill with handouts and other items from the various booths. Chamois Fire Protection District also provided Junior Firefighter hats for elementary school children.

One teacher commented to organizers that she was glad to see the high school students so engaged because hands-on learning activities are often directed at younger students. “(The high school students) say things like ‘Remember when we were in elementary school and we got to do fun stuff like that,’” she said.

CMCA’s Jenn Millard said she and the school hope to hold this event every two years. “Now that we’ve seen how much fun the kids had and how much they learned,” she added, “I would love to help other schools in Osage County raise awareness about the importance of fire safety, as October is Fire Prevention Month.”