Henderson Co. firemen teach kids to trust
LEXINGTON, Tenn. — It is unfortunate, but children often are killed in fires because they hide from firemen, according to Henderson County fire officials. Henderson County firefighters worked with kids Monday at Pin Oak Elementary to help ease their fears and let them know they are people to turn to for help. Fire trucks, fire suits and fire sirens are designed to alert us of nearby danger, but firefighters say these things can be scary to children. “We are nothing to be scared of in all of our protective equipment that they realize that firefighters are their friends,” Henderson County Fire Chaplain Chris Young said. The Henderson County Fire Department worked to ease those fears Monday by teaching students in Holly Lanciloti’s pre-Kindergarten classroom. This week, students in Lanciloti’s class are studying the letter ‘F’ — brought to you by fire safety, firefighters and friends. “I think they’ll be talking about this for a long time, and it will definitely help teach the letter ‘F,'” Lanciloti said. Lt. Sam Reeves said his favorite part of these programs is interacting with the kids. “They’re the ones that we’re here for,” Reeves said. “They’re the ones that we don’t want to be scared of us when we’re in there in a structure. We want them to come to us, not run away from us.” Firefighters say one of the main things kids should know is there is nothing to be afraid of even when they are wearing all of their safety equipment. “So that they understand who we are what we do and that we’re friendly,” Young said. “We’re not here to hurt them or harm them — we’re here to help them.” Young said kids absorb false information from watching television. “They don’t need to be heroes at age 3, 4 and 5 years old, and the proper things to do to get out of harm’s way and allow us as professionals to be able to do those jobs,” Young said. Young says knowledge helps calm nerves during a real emergency. “One of the biggest things is making sure those children understand not to hide in a closet, hide under a bed in those situations, because it makes it dangerous and very life threatening for the children,” Young said. Chaplain Young said he encourages families to plan meeting spots with their kids in case of a house fire.
