Chris Marquette

Picayune Item

 

Children from the Kids Korner day care had huge smiles on their faces as they swarmed Joanie, the black lab that works for Central Fire Department in Picayune.

Pat Weaver, the fire marshall for Picayune Fire Department, demonstrated to the children how after a fire Joanie goes through the burned house and sniffs for gasoline or any other accelerant that could have started the fire. She sniffed out gasoline placed in one of the cracks in the driveway and marked it by scratching at it.

Since this week is National Fire Prevention Week, this week and next week, the Central Fire Department will instruct 801 kids ages 2 through 12 about fire safety, said Picayune Fire Department Secretary Janet Guidry.

Weaver said the reason National Fire Prevention Week falls in October is because the Chicago fire happened on Oct. 8, 1871 when the city was burned and over 1,000 people lost their lives. He also stated that this specific year’s theme is “hear the beep where you sleep.” Weaver emphasized how crucial it is for people to have a working smoke detector system where they sleep.

The children from Kids Korner were also treated to a visit from Sparky the dog. Sparky is a man who dresses up as a dog in a fireman suit to instruct kids about fire safety. He demonstrated to them how to stop, drop and roll in case of a fire. The firemen on hand also made it clear how important it is to cover one’s face and eyes.

In addition, they saw how a fireman gets dressed to enter a burning structure. They experienced the sirens and lights of the fire truck and were even able to help spray water out of a real fire hose

Fire Chief Keith Brown said there have been 42 fire deaths this year in Mississippi.

“We want to lower these numbers and raise the kids’ awareness of fire prevention and safety while they are young,” Brown said.

Brown is hoping to get Picayune selected to be a pilot town for a smoke detector drive where they would go in and install smoke detectors in people’s homes.