Students attend Safe Kids Camp
Nearly 100 elementary school students from Peabody and Burns spent Saturday learning safety tips that may protect them in a variety of situations.
Personnel from the Peabody Police Department, Peabody Fire Department, Peabody Ambulance, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and a crew from Life Team, a medical helicopter, taught the students how to handle emergencies. Even Smokey the Bear made an appearance.
The camp was offered at no charge to the students.
"We felt like it was a huge success," said Jeff Pohlman, Peabody police chief. "The kids ranged from kindergarten through sixth grade and they were really good to work with. They stayed attentive, participated, and asked good questions. We were proud of all of them."
The students learned about fire, bike, water, farm, boat, and fireworks safety. There also was a course on drug awareness.
Life Team and ambulance personnel talked to the students about their training and how they do their jobs. The medical helicopter and an ambulance were at the school for young people to see.
Children went through a "smoke house" and learned how to take care of themselves in a burning home.
Pohlman said DuPont Co. donated child-size fire and ambulance coats for use with an obstacle course. The purpose is for children to understand how emergency workers have to hurry to get into their gear to get to the scene of a fire or accident.
"It also shows how team members help each other and rely on each other when they are getting to an emergency situation."
Pohlman said he hopes the Safe Kids Camp can be an annual event. "The more they know the better they can help themselves if they ever need to," he said. "We hope they will never need to use what they learned, but it is good to know they have some skills for an emergency."
