Tiverton Students Talk Fire Safety, Create Posters

A firefighter in full gear crawled into a smoke-filled Tiverton classroom, staying low to the ground, calling and reaching out to try to find the students. Once he found the young children sitting on the area rug, they sat puzzled, uncertain of who the large man was with an oxygen mask covering his face. He talked about the fire in the room, and told them he wasn't going anywhere. They stared back blankly at him, unsure of what to do.

Firefighter and paramedic Michael Peloquin then sat up on the rug, removed his mask and smiled. It was all pretend.

As part of Fire Prevention Week in the school district, Marshal Daniel Murphy talked to the same pre-kindergarten classroom at earlier on Thursday about dialing 9-1-1, not to play with matches or lighters and how to stop, drop and roll if you're on fire.

"I'm giving you homework," he told them. "Go home and draw your house."

"Why?" one child immediately chimed up.

"Who has a plan of getting out [during a fire]?" Murphy replied. "You need to have a plan to get out of your house, and have a meeting place, whether it be at a tree or mom and dad's car."

Students from Pocasset, and schools heard all the fire safety tips this week during visits from the fire department. In art classes, every first- through fourth-grade student participated in the poster contest for prevention week, choosing a theme around fire safety.

"All the posters showed imagination, hard work and knowledge of how to prevent fires and what to do in case of a fire," Murphy said, who has been conducting the annual event for about 15 years in Tiverton.

Two winners from each grade were selected from all three schools for the contest, and received gift certificates from Toys 'R Us. Also, three grand-prize winners from each school won bicycles from Benny's.

For their grand prize-winning drawings, Emma Franklin was chosen from Pocasset, Isable Brynn Del Dio from Ranger and Elsa Schultz Hanita from Fort Barton.

Murphy added that all students received prizes from the fire department for participating in the contest, such as helmets, stickers, magnets and a bag. He thanked everybody who participated in this year's contest, especially the students.

"The kids love it," said Pocasset Principal Fran Blaess.