Firefighter Mark Welsh (Class of 1997) visited Kindergarten to teach them about fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire

The Firefighters from Belconnen Fire Station, including Firefighter Mark Welsh (Class of 1997) visited Kindergarten recently.

Fireman Mark told the children he had been a student at Radford College when he was young! He told them he ALWAYS wanted to be a Firefighter and that they could be too!

Mark told us they aim to teach the children 5 main lessons during the fire education package.

1. Good fires and bad fires. The difference being is that we use fire nearly everyday to cook and heat but a good fire is when a responsible adult is supervising it all the time.
2. Get down low and go go go. Smoke comes from fire and is extremely bad for you. Smoke rises so clean cooler air is close to the ground. Go out the nearest exit and meet at your households meeting place. Working smoke alarms also covered.
3. Stop Drop & Roll. If your close catch alight don’t run around crazy. Stop what you’re doing, drop carefully to the ground and roll to smother out the fire.
4. Firefighters are your friends. We dress up a teacher and firefighter to show that it’s still a friendly firefighter under all the gear and not to be scared. We are always there 24 hours a day absolutely everyday of the year, no matter what to help you, family & friends.
5. 000 emergency number. When to use it and what to say. Never use it to joke around.

The classes spoke about the firefighters needing to wear special clothes to keep them safe when they were putting fires out. Kindergarten teacher and collegian Nadia Sullivan (Class of 1991) pulled on the over the top pants and then a large coat to protect her arms and a special helmet to protect her head. Gloves to keep her hands safe and a special mask to protect her from the smoke. The children thought this was fantastic.

When we caught up with Mark afterwards he told us he still looks forward to going to work with a really fun & close reliable bunch of guys and girls. He said that “no matter the training we do you never know what challenges you’ll face and when they’ll come up. It’s extremely challenging both physically and mentally”.

Mark now lives out on a farm with his wife and young family. He has extremely fond memories of his time at Radford and he enjoyed coming in to speak with the Kindy classes. He commented that all 4 Kindy classes were extremely engaged in the lesson content ……but of course they all loved the fire truck afterwards and holding the hose to squirt some water!!

He hopes to be back sometime soon!

Thank you Fireman Mark!