Fort Bragg firefighters recognized for installing child seats

By visiting expos, leading workshops and encouraging parents to seek their expertise, Fort Bragg firefighters are making a difference

June 26, 2017 12:44 PM

A firefighter with the Fort Bragg Fire Department gives Jade, a four-year old preschool student, his fire-proof coat to try on during the Volksmarch, a kick-off event for the Month of the Military Child, at the Rodriguez Child Development Center on Fort Bragg, N.C., April 4, 2016.

By Amanda Dolasinski
The Fayetteville Observer

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Fort Bragg firefighters visit child expos, lead workshops and invite parents to their stations to empower them with knowledge to properly install child passenger safety seats.

“If we can do something ahead of a crash to keep kids safe, that’s invaluable,” said Stephen Fox, the battalion chief for the Fort Bragg Fire Department. “We want to help prevent these injuries and death.”

Fort Bragg’s firefighters are once again being recognized for their steadfast dedication to protect children in vehicles. The department is the 2017 recipient of the BuckleUpNC Conference’s Child Passenger Safety, Permanent Checking Station of the Year.

“We’re proud of it,” Fox said. “We want to prevent injuries and death.”

Each year, the state conference honors individuals and programs for service to child passenger safety. North Carolina has held conferences to educate and advocate for child passenger safety periodically since 1982 and annually since 2006.

Fort Bragg’s Fire Department received the honor last year, too.

The firefighters volunteer to check child passenger seats in addition to their firefighting duties. They check seats at their station, but also go to expos and lead classes for expectant mothers at Womack Army Medical Center.

The firefighters keep up with the latest recalls, so they can help parents choose the correct seats for children.

On average, the firefighters install and inspect between 300 and 500 child passenger seats each year.

“For us, it’s a voluntary program. They’re doing it for a reason,” Fox said. “We just want to keep the kids safe.”

The department mostly installs infant seats, Fox said.

In 2015, Fox said, firefighters learned that a child seat they helped install had been involved in a rollover crash. The child, who was about 4 or 5 years old, had a few scrapes, but was fine, Fox said.

“That was huge to have a documented save,” he said. “To have a hand in preventing a death or keep a child from being injured, I see no other thing I want to be doing. I’ll always make time to install seats.”