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The Bartlesville Fire Department hosted fire prevention courses for first graders in the City of Bartlesville last week during Fire Prevention Week.

Public Information Officer Bill Hollander said they have several dedicated firemen at the Central Fire Station in Bartlesville that took an hour of their time to teach the kids what they needed to know. He said the firemen showed the kids the tools on the fire truck, what is on the fire truck, and what they wear in structure fires.

Short films on fire safety and prevention were shown to students at the Central Fire Station throughout the week. The Bartlesville Fire Department paid for the students to be bussed to their location so they can go through the programs.

The kids also go to crawl through a smoke-filled room. Hollander said they have a fog generator and a small room with an indoor and outdoor exit. They used this to show the students how to crawl through a room full of smoke and exit safely.

Sparky the Fire Dog came to see the kiddos last week as well. In total, 700 to 800 first graders participated in the Fire Prevention Week programs put on by the Bartlesville Fire Department. Hollander said it is vital to teach first graders the importance of fire safety and prevention, because this is the time of their lives when they start to understand the dangers in life. He said they may have some confusion, too, which is why they wanted to give the students a platform to learn, grow and help them to have no fear in a fire situation.

The Bartlesville Fire Department taught the young students to get out to safety as soon as possible. They showed the students involved the differences between exiting a structure and stop, drop and roll. Feeling closed doors with the back of one's hand to see if it is hot or not, and exiting house fires safely from a window was also taught on top of other things.

Overall, Hollander said the Bartlesville Fire Department had fun with the kids. He said they sat down, paid attention and asked plenty of questions.

When they weren't learning, they were having fun. There is a spiral slide at the Central Fire Station, and all the students got to go do the slide. The BFD said they cannot wait to host the kids again next year.