Caption: Rewasau Kindergarten school children with their parents and teachers at the Suva Fire Station.
National Fire Authority (NFA) continued with its fire safety awareness program last week when the pre-school children of Rewasau Kindergarten from Monasavu, Naitasiri visited the Suva Fire Station for the first time to learn about fire safety.
“The importance of educating and protecting children from the dangers and trauma that can be caused by fire in and around the home is widely recognized and we appreciate the support of school management, teachers and parents for instilling fire safety awareness for the children of their community,” NFA CEO John O’Connor said.
“Such visits enhances partnership between firefighters, teachers, students and parents in an effort to reduce fire incidence and the impact of fires in our community.
During the fire safety awareness program, students were taught on the consequences of a house fire and survival skills to ensure their safety during a fire.
“The students were taken through practical drills on how to safely evacuate their homes in case of a fire by entering our Smokehouse program. Students were also taken through practical drills on what to do if their clothes were on fire.
Rewasau Kindergarten school teacher Venaisi Leno said the students have learnt a lot from this visit.
“This was the first time our students have visited the fire station and they have learnt a lot from this visit in terms of fire safety.
Meanwhile, it was a learning experience for the Fiji National Council for Disabled People (FNCDP) who also visited the Suva Fire Station on Friday.
FNCDP Executive Officer Kush Prasad said this was the first time for them to visit the NFA to learn fire safety.
“This was very important for our children as they have now learnt important aspect of fire prevention and more importantly what to do when their property is on fire.
Mr O’Connor highlighted that targeting fire safety awareness programs to school children is very effective. These students learn the importance of fire safety and such learning remain with them for the life time.
“Students are very inquisitive and we hope they will share their learning with their parents,” Mr O’Connor said.
NFA was grateful for the visit from the Fiji National Council for Disabled People. The visit by these children is a reminder for NFA that disabled children and members of the communities are also victims of fires and that NFA must work closely with Disabled Organizations to ensure that their concerns and needs of the disabled members of the community are seriously considered by NFA and the firefighters when responding to a fire and other emergencies.
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