Arizona is next stop for educational group
By Clay Bailey
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Copyright 2007 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — A bunch of clowns from Germantown are taking their show on the road.
The troupe, who also double as firefighters for the suburb, have developed a successful safety education program through their alter-egos and clown skits, and will take their performance to Bullhead City, Ariz., next week.
The show by the Germantown Learning About Fire Safety troupe or LAFS is part of a puppetry and clowning camp sponsored by the Arizona Fire and Burn Educators Association.
“I thought they were great,” said Beverly Burns, an official with the association, who has seen the group. “They have a lot of personality, and they interact well, not only with each other, but also with the people they are doing the skit for.”
The Arizona performance is the latest exposure for the Germantown ensemble, which has almost 20 performances annually at area school and other events. They also have a DVD available for free at area Blockbuster stores and the Germantown Community Library. The disc provides parents with a way to present the group’s lessons without waiting for the next school show.
“It’s a really good way to educate kids and adults,” Germantown Fire Chief Dennis Wolf said. “When we do programs in schools, the teachers watch and get as much out of it as the children do.”
The group began performing in 2000 after Lt. Mike Mitchell attended a conference on using characters to present safety lessons. Several firefighters, including Mitchell, who plays leader “Scoop,” then attended a clown school in Columbia, Tenn. The group built from there to a cast of seven who will head to Arizona.
Danny Hopper, a driver for the department, who is “Squirt,” headed out Wednesday, towing their equipment in a new multi-colored trailer. The rest will leave this weekend.
The clown corps appears at all Germantown elementary schools during Fire Prevention Week and has made special appearances in other schools. They appeared in Southaven last fall after the fire death of an 8-year-old girl. The three sessions at DeSoto Central Elementary drew more than 1,000 students.
“I think their presentation is quality and a new method that our kids in Southaven have not seen. This is one I didn’t want the kids to miss a chance on,” said Keith Ward, fire and life safety public educator with the Southaven fire marshal’s office.
Over the years, the program has added personal safety topics such as stranger danger, Internet traps and pool safety.
The zany antics and over-the-top comedic escapades are out of character for the firefighters’ normal personalities.
“When you put that makeup on, you’ll do just about anything,” said Lt. Shari Turner, who plays “Edith.” “When you get a couple of hundred kids laughing, it can’t get any better than that.”
Wolf said it is hard to measure effectiveness because if the students avoid strangers or don’t play with matches basically nothing bad happens.
The chief acknowledges his safety presentations years ago weren’t as entertaining without costumes and pratfalls.
“They are zeroed in,” said Greg Strawn, who plays “Crash.” “You have their undivided attention because of the bright colors and the makeup.”