Members of the Iola Fire Department are putting on a different hat going from firefighters to fire-preventers as part of National Fire Prevention Month.
The Fire Department has visited with more than 950 students this month, from preschool through fourth grade in Iola. Each child received a safety bag filled with materials on fire safety.
The youngsters also were treated to tours of the fire station, and given a chance to see what firefighters do on a daily basis, tour the inside of department ambulances and fire trucks, check out the equipment firefighters use on fire and medical calls, and some were allowed to do a fire drill in the IFD smoke house. The smoke house uses a fog machine to fill the inside of the small building, to teach children how to crawl and safely exit a burning structure.
The massive effort relied on donations from several local businesses, who contributed a combined $2,900 to the department, according to an IFD press release. Materials were purchased from the National Fire Safety Council.
Donating businesses were Bs Tax Service LLC, Catalyst Artificial Lift, China Palace, Colt Energy, Community National Bank, Craig and Georgia Abbott, Edward Jones, El Charro, Fast Lube, Iola Elks Lodge, Iola Insurance Associates, Iola Pharmacy, Johnson Schowengerdt P.A., M&W Manufacturing, Microtronics, Personal Service Insurance, RVB Trucking, Russell Stover Candies, Shaughnessy Construction, Sonic Equipment, St. Clair-Hays, Inc., Storage and RV of Iola, Twin Motors Ford and Utleys Iola Auto Body.
With the approaching end to Daylight Saving Time, firefighters noted the time change is a great reminder to change batteries in smoke detectors.
