SAUGUS — The Fire Department pulled up to the Saugus Iron Works Wednesday morning to give a lesson on fire safety.
Cpt. Bill Cross was the instructor for the presentation, guiding the audience through the steps of what to do if you’re ever in a fire.
“Firefighters help in an emergency. They go to accidents, right? Firefighters don’t just go to fires, they go to accidents too,” Cross said. “They put out fires and they keep people safe.”
He explained that firefighters sleep and eat in fire stations so they’re always ready to help, noting that they often work 24-hour shifts.
He started the presentation by reading from a book, which explained everything firefighters do to help people. After the reading, he began to explain how to stay safe during a fire. First, he pointed out how people live with appliances like stoves, grills, and fire pits. He said these objects have made people comfortable around fires.
He then asked the audience if anyone could tell him what to do if clothes caught on fire. Rebeca De Calais, of Saugus, quickly raised her hand, saying, “Stop, drop, and roll.” Cross then asked her to come up and show the audience how to do it. He said never to run.
“Stop, drop, and roll is really important. If you run, the fire gets bigger. Probably about seven or eight years ago, there was a kid in Lynn. It was a Saturday morning, and his mother was cleaning the house. She had a candle going on the coffee table. His shirt caught on fire, and he ran. He got second and third-degree burns on his body,” Cross said.
He had the audience all repeat after him that after stop, drop, and roll, you should call 9-1-1. Cross told everyone to never think you’re bothering the fire department by calling 9-1-1 in an emergency. “We’d rather come and it be nothing than you wait and delay and have it be a real problem,” he said.
He showed everyone a smoke detector and turned it on so everyone could hear the sound it makes when there’s smoke. He then asked how often the detectors should be checked. Someone in the crowd answered once a month. Cross said that on the boxes it says once a week, but he joked that he knows nobody does that, and that once a month “would be great.”
Cross gave a scenario of waking up in the middle of the night from the smoke detector going off. He asked, “What’s the first thing you should do?” He told everyone they should immediately get low to the ground. “The reason why I get low … as the smoke builds up and it hits the ceiling … it starts to come down like a curtain. Trying to look through smoke is like trying to look through this tree,” he said, turning to stare at the tree behind him. “I can’t see through smoke either.”
Cross told everyone that being down low will be the coolest area, as heat rises, and the best way to be able to see where you are going. He said firefighters are always on their hands and knees.
The next step was feeling the doorknob with the back of your hand. Cross explained that when feeling with the palm of your hand, the natural instinct is to stay where you are, which could lead to serious burns. By feeling with the back of your hand, it’s easier to move away from a doorknob if it’s hot.
“If the door is cool, excellent. I crack the door and take a look. It’s clear, even better. I stay low to the floor and I get outside,” he said. Cross then introduced the idea of a meeting spot, saying that everyone should have a spot outside where family members can gather to ensure everyone is out safely. “By having that meeting spot, you help us do our jobs.”
He then gave a new scenario where the doorknob is hot. Cross said not to open the door, as it adds an extra barrier of protection from the fire. Instead, find a pillowcase, blanket, or shirt and open your window. Use the object as a flag and call for help, giving the firefighters a clear view of where you are located. He said for younger kids, parents should show them how to do this safely.
De Calais asked what to do if your window has an air conditioning unit. Cross said parents should show kids how to pull the unit safely into the room and not push it out the window or open the window without it being secured in the room, as it could fall and injure someone.
Firefighter Derek Lanzillo was also at the presentation, volunteering to dress up in his full gear to show the kids what they wear. He went around giving high-fives to everyone, although some kids were a little frightened due to the mask he wore.
