If it's October you can bet that the yellow apparatus of the West Grove Fire Company can be found parked outside one of the schools or daycare centers in the area as the company delivers its highly-regarded fire safety program to hundreds of children.

With programs tailored to very young kids in daycare up to those in intermediate school, the program is designed to provide critical fire prevention and fire safety education to kids, programs they see each fall which help them know what to do in an emergency and how to practice fire safety in the home. With key messages about calling 9-1-1, "stop, drop, and roll," keeping bedroom doors closed while sleeping, and how smoke detectors sound, young children learn valuable, life-long messages about fire safety. The children also see firefighter don all of their gear and breathing apparatus so they won't be scared of first responders, and they get to go outside and see the fire trucks and learn about the equipment the WGFC carries.

The programs are held in October as part of the nationally-celebrated fire prevention month programs. The WGFC has been lauded over the years for its proactive fire safety prevention efforts with young children. And, while dozens of WGFC first responders participate, our own "Firefighter Lisa" is well known by children who have grown up hearing her program year after year. This year nearly a dozen and one half schools/daycares were visited, with dozens of classroom presentations.

We honor Lisa and her team of fire prevention program participants. We also thank the many schools and daycare programs that invite in the West Grove Fire Company to interact with the children. We encourage all parents and grandparents and guardians to reinforce these safety messages in the home, assure a family evacuation plan and meeting place, and assure there are working smoke detectors in the home.