CALABASAS : School Has Big ‘Thank You’ for Firefighters

Exactly one year ago, the skies above Meadow Oaks School in Calabasas were filled with black soot and smoke.

With the flames of the 1993 firestorm encroaching on the campus, more than 500 students and teachers were evacuated by firefighters from nearby Station 68.

To honor them, as well as those from the Malibu and Las Virgenes fire stations, Meadow Oaks held a schoolwide assembly Tuesday where they presented the firefighters with flowers and plaques.

All around the playground were student-made banners adorned with pictures of Dalmatians and firefighters’ hats that read “Buckets of Thanks” and “Thank you, firefighters. We think you’re hot.”

Students, their teachers and their parents wore green ribbons with “Never forget. Be prepared,” printed on them.

John Baran, a firefighter from Station 68, was among those who helped evacuate Meadow Oaks.

“The administrators here, they had a plan and they implemented it. Without it, it would have been really difficult,” he said.

On hand for the presentation were Calabasas Mayor Karyn Foley and Malibu Mayor Jeff Kramer, who also gave certificates of appreciation to firefighters.

As a special treat to the youngsters, representatives from the fire stations brought two firetrucks to the playground, inviting the children to climb into them.

While waiting in line to clamber about one of the big, shiny red trucks, Caroline Hambright, 8, said she would like to be a firefighter when she grows up. “I’d like to be a hero one day,” she said.

Classmate Brett Rehder, also 8, said he would also like to be a firefighter: “I want to save people’s lives and be on television.”