By Joanne Braun
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
QUAKER VALLEY, Pa. — A smoke alarm for Quaker Valley elementary schools could cost as much as $7,000.
Some might think that’s a little expensive, but this smoke alarm talks, moves, comes with a house and helps children learn about fire prevention. His name is Buzz.
Sarah Scalercio, 15, of Sewickley Heights hopes to raise enough money to purchase the robot for Quaker Valley Fire Safety Committee to use in its fire prevention programs at schools. The committee consists of representatives from all six Quaker Valley fire departments.
Scalercio, a Quaker Valley sophomore, is a junior firefighter for Cochran Hose Co. in Sewickley. She’s organizing a Christmas fundraiser at the station to start her senior project early.
“It’s supposed to be about something that interests you. My dad is a fireman, and I practically grew up at Cochran. It’s hard not to get interested,” she said.
The basic Buzz would cost about $5,000, and a deluxe model would cost close to $7,000. Sarah said it will be hard to raise that kind of money from her event, but she hopes to get other donations and maybe plan another fundraiser.
According to the Robotronics Web site, Buzz can move his eyebrows, eyes, eyelids, mouth and hands. He can be operated by either a preprogrammed MP3 player with educational music and dialogue, or by remote control.
His safety house opens to show six rooms that illustrate potential fire and safety hazards. The rooms light up, and lights flash on command to illustrate hazards.
The deluxe version includes a control box that enables the operator to manually initiate all functions of the smoke alarm and house from up to 50 feet away, on a cable connection.
“Buzz has different modules that can be used to teach different lessons about different aspects of fire safety,” Sarah said.
Ross Township Firemen’s Relief Association owns both Buzz and a Sparky the Dog robot, purchased with federal grant money. Ross Fire Marshal John Reubi said Buzz is small enough to be easily transported. Children respond well to the robots, but he said firemen have to make sure their message gets across.
Reubi suggests using Buzz to explain fire prevention, and then have Sparky reinforce the message.
“With Buzz, you can have a fireman just stop the program and ask the kids questions about what Buzz told them,” Reubi said.
Jeff Neff, Cochran chief, said it is possible Buzz could be used in the schools, but more likely for younger children who tour the station.
“Kids hear the same program over and over. There’s a lot of repetition, and that’s good because they learn that way. This will be something new for them. It will be a great asset,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved