Today's Lesson? Stay Low And Go

Tim Lunn, Seth Patrick and Jay McCarthy grew up together, rode the bus together, and they all attended Island Avenue School. Now grown up, they are all firefighters, they all live in Madison, and they all have sons who are in Mrs. Kraus' fourth grade class at Island Avenue School.

So what better place for them to demonstrate the best way to survive in case of a fire, than at Island Avenue School?

Their lesson plan Tuesday was brief but dramatic. For the fourth graders, it included a short video about how fast fire can spread and the importance of getting out quickly while staying low as toxic smoke accumulates overhead.

Lunn, who gave a presentation along with the video, was careful to put everything in perspective. "Everything is safer than it's ever been," he told the kids. The chances that any of them would ever experience a fire were very, very small, he said. But, he added, if any of them ever were in a house fire, he wanted to make sure that they knew what they were up against and what to do to survive.

The key to survival? Stay low to the ground and get out of the house. Or, as Lunn put it, stay low and go.

The video showed why that was important. It showed a house that was quickly engulfed by flames after a wastebasket caught fire. Black smoke quickly filled the top of the room, and Lunn noted that the smoke was filled with toxic chemicals that could quickly knock someone out or kill them. Within minutes, the narrator on the film explained, the temperature in the house rose to 500 degrees, which no one could survive, even if they didn't succumb to the smoke.

The eerie part? You couldn't tell from the outside that the house was burning up inside. It was clear that survival was up to those inside reacting quickly and correctly. Within four minutes, the narrator on the film said, the temperature in the house was 1000 degrees, so soft that the glass in the windows softened and "flowed like taffy."

Lunn told the kids to sleep with their doors closed at night in case there is a fire, because that will provide them with some protection from smoke and heat if there is a fire at night. The kids also got a lesson when to call 911 and the importance of a family meeting place in case of an emergency like a fire.

Then the kids were packed into a small bedroom in the back of a Peter F. Mullen demonstration trailer borrowed from the Branford Fire Department. After some coaching, the door were closed, and the room filled with greyish-white smoke.

The kids were great. Some of them giggled, and a few chattered the whole time, but they all dropped to the floor and managed to scramble out of the window in the back of the trailer where a group of firefighters waited to help them to the ground. Me? I was so scared by the room filled with smoke that all I could do was hang on to the back of Jay's t-shirt. Jay, thanks for not laughing ... too hard.

Talking with our kids about how to survive in case of a fire is just one of the many things our volunteer firefighters to do help keep us safe. If you want to help them, consider making a donation. Donations are needed this year more than ever, because Madison Hose Co. No. 1's main fundraiser was canceled following Tropical Storm Irene, which is ironic given how hard all of them worked during the storm. Want to help? Send your donations to Madison Hose Co. No. 1, PO Box 573, Madison, CT 06443, and for the guys up north who help keep us safe, North Madison Volunteer Fire Company, 864 Opening Hill Road, Madison, CT 06443