As the school year begins to wind down, Northport Public School teacher Mrs. Bennett decided to take her grade one class on a field trip, but one that was close to home.
Students boarded the bus at 11:30 a.m. on May 30th and proceeded to tour their own community. The first stop was Hi-berry Farm and then it was on to the Police Station and the Plex, learning what takes place at each.
It was time to head out again to the Port Elgin Fire Station where it was an exciting tour that began in the classroom with an equipment demonstration and explanation by Fire Prevention Officer Paula Paquegnat.
“We all have regular jobs and are volunteers so when there is an alarm we leave our jobs and hurry to the station where we have one minute to get into our gear,” she explained. “We receive two tags that are very important. A green one identifies the truck we’ll be on and the red one identifies each firefighter and how long they have been at a fire. Once a fire truck is full, it leaves and other arriving firefighters have to get on another one.”
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She also went on to explain the oxygen tank, how it is filled and how long it lasts. “There is enough oxygen for one hour but we use one third while working and then we have to make sure that we still have one third or 20 minutes to get out of a situation. The most important thing is to stay safe.”
Once fully dressed in the heavy equipment, Paquegnat said that “… while it may look and sound scary, know that if you are ever in a fire or in smoke, we are there to help and not be afraid if you see someone like this.”
From the classroom, half the class headed out into the station to learn about the trucks and the equipment used while the other half headed outside to the mobile where there is smoke to simulate a fire in the home and where they learned what to do in the event of one. “Stay low and find your way out immediately,” said Saugeen District Senior School (SDSS)co-op student Jimmy McNeil.
After exiting the mobile, students had the opportunity to try on helmets and a regulation firefighter jacket.
While the fire station was exciting, it was time to again board the bus to tour Robertson Soccer field, Centennial pool at the high school and the Port Elgin Post Office. Next, at the Public Library, the students left the bus for a tour before heading to the beach and splash pad.
Finally, it was time for even more fun as they ended their day at Nodwell Park and had a play break.
“This was a chance for the young students to learn about their own community,” said teacher Sandi Bennett, “as some students had not been to some of the locations. It was definitely a fun learning experience.”
