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West Shore students learn life-saving skills at yearly Fire Safety Expo

Firefighters from Metchosin, Langford, Colwood, Sooke teach SD62 students
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Students from Lakewood Elementary tried their hand at extinguishing a live fire during the Fire Safety Expo at the Metchosin Fire Hall April 9. The event is put on to help kids learn skills to keep them safe on the street, on their bikes and in their homes. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)

There’s a lot more to fire safety than ‘stop, drop and roll.’

That’s why West Shore emergency crews take two days every year to make sure Sooke School District students have the knowledge they need to stay safe.

The Fire Safety Expo had SD62 Grade 4 and 5 students make their way through a series of stations where they learned the ins and outs of preventing and responding to fires, making emergency safety plans and road and cycling safety.

Grade 4 teacher Nick Gervais said his Willway Elementary class was really getting into the event, enjoying the demonstrations and getting to see the inside of the fire trucks.

He hopes cycling safely is one of the biggest skills his students take away.

“I see a lot of them riding their bikes, so having the safety demo is good,” he said. “And having this event go on for free is awesome, it’s a great way to build community.”

The expo has been hosted at the Metchosin Fire Hall for over 20 years, and sees around 800 SD62 students come through for an education on everything from fire alarms, learning to ‘stop, drop and roll’ and even getting a chance to extinguish a real flame using the PASS system: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the lever and Sweep side to side.

READ ALSO: Fire safety skills can last for a lifetime, West Shore students learn

Langford Fire Rescue’s Rob Patterson said a lot of the safety education parents teach their kids is about dangers outside the home – not inside.

“These kids get home tonight and say, ‘we need to know how to get out of the house if there’s a fire, can you help me figure it out?’ And then the whole family gets involved in it,” he said.

This year’s expo stations were put on by Sooke Fire Rescue, Colwood Fire Rescue, Langford Fire Rescue, CFB Esquimalt, Langford bylaw enforcement, ICBC, and the Metchosin Fire Department, which has hosted the event for more than two decades.

READ ALSO: One woman confirmed dead following Esquimalt Fire



nina.grossman@blackpress.ca

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Students from Lakewood Elementary tried their hand at extinguishing a live fire during the Fire Safety Expo April 9. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)