Fire is a Tool, NOT a Toy !

We Are Never Too Young (or Too Old) to Learn About Fire Safety!

At 10:00 AM, on Thursday, October 2nd, The Goddard School, located at 255 Route 70 in Toms River, NJ, (http://www.goddardschool.com/Schools/Toms-River-II-NJ/Schools.gspx), actually kick-starts its annual Fire Prevention Education program with a planned visit by fire-fighter personnel from some of the township's engine companies.

Fire Prevention Week is the longest-running public health and safety observance on record. Sadly, it was established to commemorate several major fire disasters, like the “Great Chicago Fire” of 1871, that left 100,000 people homeless, and the Collinwood, Ohio, school fire of 1908, that killed 172 students and 3 teachers. So, the nation continues to observe Fire Prevention Week during the week containing October 9th, the anniversary of the most destructive day of the Great Chicago Fire.

This annual visit to our school, of course, intends to engage the pre-school children in fire-safety lessons and activities, as the firefighters also bring along their classic big, red Fire Truck and fire-fighting apparatus to highlight the demonstrations. The school focuses its attention on teaching fire-safety to all of its children from 6-weeks to 6-years of age, by conducting fire-drills every month (as part of its on-going fire-safety program), and by promoting fire-safety and prevention to families in its community.

“Our goal is simply to teach our children that fire is a tool, NOT a toy, and that they should work with their teachers and parents to make their home(s) safe from fire and other kinds of hazards,” says Ms. Dana Chibbaro (CQ), owner and operator of the school. "As the mother of two young children, myself, I understand the concerns parents have about their children, and nothing is more important to me and my staff than the health and safety of the children".

Events like the Chicago and Collinwood fires were just a few of the tragic, large life-loss catastrophes that led to initiatives in our country to keep disasters of this type from recurring. And, in spite of major Fire Prevention education programs across the nation since both events, another major school fire occurred just 50 years ago, in Chicago, that took the lives of 92 school children and 3 teachers.

The keynote of Fire Prevention Week for 2008 is “Prevent Home Fires”, because of the many potential fire hazards that go undetected because people simply do not take steps to fireproof their home. The theme could be more pointed this year, as we are reminded that the Great Fire of 1871 destroyed more than 17,400 structures, burned more than 2,000 acres, and killed more than 250 people.

For a picture, or information about, the Collinwood school fire, or about other items related to fire-safety and prevention, visit the National Fire Protection Association at: http://www.nfpa.org/