BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CHILDREN are being exposed to fire safety tips and other useful information as they participate in the annual Summer Safety Program hosted by the St. Kitts-Nevis Fire and Rescue Services.
The programme began yesterday, July 18 in Basseterre, Tabernacle, Sandy Point and Nevis and will end tomorrow July 20.
The summer safety programme was started 11 years ago and according to Fire Sub-Officer Everette O'Garro, they had observed an increase in the number of fire incidents involving children and the senior officers came together to discuss ways of curbing the incidents.
“Over the three days we will teach fire safety tips because we realize over the summer children are at home or they go on picnics. We’ve also included the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force to deal with traffic safety, and the Coast Guard to deal with water safety. So we’ll be covering a wide area other than fires,” O’Garro said.
The children will be taught tips to help prevent or at least minimize fire incidents from occurring and even to save their lives.
“We teach them basic stuff like how to call 911, who to call and what to do if they find themselves involved in a fire. The ‘stop, drop and roll routine’, to stay as close as possible to the floor if they’re in a smoke filled room because hot air would rise and cleaner air would be on the bottom.
“We also tell them to speak to their parents about a fire plan at home which will involve everyone in the home,” he said.
Brief remarks were also given by Minister of Homeland Security, Sam Condor, who officially declared the camp open.
