'Big Red' Fire Truck visits Plunket

 By Julia West
 
The Mangawhai Volunteer   Fire   Brigade made a visit to Plunket Morning   at  Rose  Madden Cottage last week.

They were there to share some   fire   safety   hints with  staff,  parents   and children, as well as showing off their Big Red 801 truck  and  having  some fun with the fire hose.

Hemi Meagher, along with his team of volunteer  firefighters,  practiced      an      evacuation drill from the Plunket premises and discussed exit strategies from the home.    Hemi    stressed the importance  of installing long-life photo-electric fire alarms in all homes  and getting them checked regularly.

“This is especially important for households with children present, as toddlers  up  to five years old are at a high risk of being caught in a fire and not knowing what to do. It’s really important your family knows what to do in a fire emergency and the  best  way is  to practice a home  escape plan. Kids must  know how to
‘get out and  stay out’ of the house if they smell smoke or fire.”

Hemi encouraged parents to educate their babysitters about fire safety too.

“It’s up to parents  to discuss safety exits with their babysitter in the event  of  a  fire,  as  well as     leaving     emergency  phone   numbers   for them.”

Later Julie Paget donned    full    fire-fighting gear so the children could become familiar with the sight of a person wearing breathing  equipment without being frightened. Then it was time to get out the high pressure fire hose and let the children have a play.