Students learn fire safety

Janine Marnien

If there’s a fire in their house, students at Monte Vista

Elementary School will know exactly what to do about it.

Kindergarten, first- and second-grade students learned how to

create an escape plan from a burning home and what to do if there is

no way out of a room at an assembly Friday on fire safety.

First-grade student Tristan Pereira helped show students how to

find the safe spot -- a previously arranged meeting place for family

members who have escaped from a fire. It’s an integral part of the

escape plan, he said.

“If you don’t know where your safety spot is, how could you get

out of your house?” he said.

The presentation is given by L.A. Troupe, and arranged by the

Glendale Fire Department as part of Fire Safety Month. Skits set in

the home of the actors demonstrate what to do -- and what not to do

-- in case of a fire.

Students learned the importance of having working smoke detectors

in each room, not treating matches and lighters as toys and not to go

back into a burning house for family members, pets or toys.

Students also learned to test doors and windows with the back of

the hand instead of the front when determining if something is safe

to use as an escape route, because the back of the hand is less

sensitive than the front.

Marcus Monterroso thinks having a smoke detector is important, but

also thinks it can be deceptive.

“Sometimes the alarm can go off, but it might not be smoke from a

fire,” he said. “It could be smoke from someone cooking something.”

The presentation is an annual event at Monte Vista Elementary,

first-grade teacher Shirley Sycamore said.

“We need to remind children of this, many times,” she said. “I

just don’t think they get enough of this.”