The Fire Truck Field Trip – How It Can Help Children Be Safe

Most children love the sight and sounds of a fire truck. Many never get over the attraction and even as adults are drawn to the sight and sounds of the big red truck, lights and siren. What is it that catches our attention? And what can children learn from an "up close and personal" look at a fire truck? Fire trucks have three elements that naturally attract our sense of adventure. They're large and colorful so they catch our eye. They have noisy sirens so they catch our ear. And they race into dangerous situations, saving lives along the way, so they catch our sense of adventure. How many little boys (and girls) have spent hours pretending they were driving a fire truck to the scene of some horrific fire? Many schools make the effort to take children on a field trip to the fire department for a chance to talk to real firefighters and a chance to sit in a real fire truck. Sometimes, the field trips also include a brief ride in a fire truck - a dream come true for many children. If chances to see the fire truck does nothing more than increase a child's awareness in the work

that firefighters do, the field trip could probably be called a success. But most of these field trips become an opportunity for firefighters to teach children about fire safety. Topics of discussion include the danger of playing with fire and how to plan an emergency evacuation route out of a burning home. Just as fire drills at school help prepare children for a real emergency at school, the trip to see a fire truck can help children be aware of the need for an emergency plan at home. A fire truck will likely always hold some significant appeal for most people, especially for children. But teaching children a little about the reality of the work firefighters do can help save lives.