ANAHEIM : Fire Department’s New Classroom Rolls

To draw people’s attention to safety issues, the Fire Department is rolling out a classroom on wheels.

The Mobile Fire and Life Safety Education Unit is a 16-foot-long trailer with a folding stage, a public address system, a television and VCR, fire prevention displays, props for simulating emergency situations and a phone system for practicing 911 calls.

The $20,000 trailer, funded primarily by the Anaheim Hills Rotary Club, allows the department to dramatically illustrate safety lessons, Fire Inspector Robyn Halesworth said.

The message is often a basic one, such as “stop, drop and roll” if one’s clothing catches fire, Halesworth said.

“Parents are always real shocked to realize what their kids don’t know,” said Halesworth, noting that many youngsters think the proper response if they smell smoke is to crawl under a bed or get in a closet.

“They think they can hide from a fire and it won’t get them,” Halesworth said. “And they think they can run through a fire because they see it on TV.”

The safety program explains how to correctly respond to fire, Halesworth said, after which she sets up props on the stage for a practice session. In one scenario, children get out of bed, crawl to a door and check to see if it is hot. If it is, they escape out a window.

The mobile unit is a big improvement over earlier programs, she said, in which personnel handed out pamphlets and coloring books.

To arrange fire safety presentations, call Halesworth at (714) 254-4040.