Pilot Program on Fire Safety Initiated
Children in the Magnolia and Anaheim City school districts will soon be receiving fire safety lessons in a 12-week pilot program that may eventually expand citywide.
The Learn Not to Burn program, funded through a $20,000 grant from the Massachusetts-based National Fire Protection Assn., is designed to show children in preschool through third grade how to prevent fires and respond to emergencies.
Ten teachers were trained by the association and the city Fire Department on Wednesday, and the elementary school children will begin hearing the safety tips as early as next week. Instructional materials are available in English and Spanish.
Fire Chief Jeff Bowman said that the city has historically focused its fire safety efforts on fifth-graders. But younger children, he said, are often the ones who accidentally set fires.
From 1993 through 1995, according to Fire Department statistics, children in Anaheim playing with matches and lighters caused 83 fires that resulted in more than $1 million in property damage.
The incidents included the death in August of an 11-month-old girl.
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