By Richard Cowen
The Herald News
PASSAIC, N.J. -- City firefighters on Thursday delivered a valuable lesson in fire safety to thousands of schoolchildren, hoping that the kids might do a little “homework” and prevent a fire.
Elementary school children visited the Eastside Firehouse on Hope Avenue to learn all about fire -- how to prevent one from occurring, and what to do when one breaks out. The kids were then asked to take the lesson home and teach their parents.
“These children are an age, in Grades 1 through 6, where if we reach them, it can really make a difference,” said Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost.
Besides the obligatory warning not to play with matches, the children learned about the typical causes of accidental fires. Many of the fires are started by overloaded electrical systems in crowded two-family houses, Trentacost said.
“A lot of these structures are 80 or 90 years old,” Trentacost said. “They’re built for two families, but there may be four families living in them. The electrical systems get overloaded, and it starts a fire.”
Trentacost said Passaic averages 3,500 calls and 700 structure fires a year. Most of them are minor, but even a small fire can turn deadly. He said there have been 10 fatalities in the five years that he has been chief.
The children got a look at a real fire, albeit one that was controlled and started using a small gas jet device. With the children safely behind a barricade, Lt. Chris DiBella demonstrated how to use a fire extinguisher by aiming at the base of the flames and spraying the retardant in a side-to-side motion.
DiBella impressed upon the children two main ideas: the number to call to report a fire -- 911 -- and what to do if a fire breaks out in their home.
Although maintaining smoke alarms is the legal responsibility of the landlord, tenants should take it upon themselves to ensure that the device is working and that the batteries are replaced. And every family should develop an escape plan.
A crucial part of that escape plan, DiBella said, was for families to establish a meeting place outside the home, such as a neighbor’s house. Often, when a family flees a burning building in the middle of the night, they wind up scattered. There have been occasions where a child or a parent will go back into the building looking for a loved one, and that can be fatal.
“Never, ever, go back into a burning building once you are out,” DiBella told the children.
DiBella said winter is the most dangerous time of the year, with boilers going full blast and residents resorting to space heaters and kerosene lanterns, which are illegal indoors.
DiBella said a common mistake is that people often clutter boxes and other flammable material too close to the boiler. Hanging laundry by the boiler is also dangerous.
“The boiler runs out of water and starts running red-hot, and that can start a fire,” DiBella said.
The children also got a look at Passaic’s rescue boat, which was deployed most recently during Hurricane Irene. Trentacost said the boat was used to rescue 85 people from inundated homes.
The all-day event was the Fire Department’s fourth annual open house. Trentacost said getting the word out to children is the one of the most effective ways to ensure that the message gets to parents.
“We hope that these children go home and discuss what they’ve learned today with their parents,” Trentacost said.
Fire safety tips
* Don’t use extension cords on a permanent basis.
* Don’t bury extension cords under rugs.
* Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
* Replace batteries in smoke detectors.
* Have boiler cleaned before winter.
* Don’t place flammables near boiler.