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Rolling Meadows Fire Department Teaches Injury Prevention to Central Road Students Through Risk Watch Program
Students at Central Road School are learning important safety lessons from the experts. The Rolling Meadows Fire Department recently received a grant which allows the department to partner with local schools to teach safety and injury prevention through a program called Risk Watch. The Rolling Meadows Fire Department was one of just six fire departments across the state of Illinois to receive grant funding for Risk Watch.
The Risk Watch program, sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association with co-funding from the Lowe’s Home Safety Council, is designed to give children and their families the skills and knowledge they need to create safer homes and communities. The curriculum provides age-appropriate lessons addressing eight areas of injury prevention:
1. motor vehicle safety;
2. fire and burn prevention;
3. choking, suffocation, and strangulation prevention;
4. poisoning prevention;
5. fall prevention;
6. firearms injury prevention;
7. bike and pedestrian safety; and
8. water safety.
The program has been implemented at all grade levels at Central Road. Rolling Meadows Fire Department officers have worked with teachers in presenting the lessons. Activities have involved role-playing, demonstrations, props, and engaging assignments, including the classroom appearance of a fireman in full protective gear. He explained the purpose and function of his gear, demonstrating how he would look and sound if he were called to rescue the students from an actual fire. Students were given the homework assignment of developing escape routes from their own homes in case of a fire. One student whose escape plan is chosen at random will win the opportunity to ride to school on a real fire truck. Other safety experts who have visited the school have included staff members from the Rolling Meadows Park Department who highlighted swimming pool safety.
As a part of the program, the Fire Department sent letters to the homes of every Central Road student offering to check any smoke detector that wasn’t working. When inoperative smoke detectors were reported, the department replaced batteries or even the entire smoke detector free of charge.
“We were thrilled that students in one of our schools could benefit from this helpful program,” noted Sally Biere, coordinator of health services for District 15. “It really is effective in teaching safety. We hope next year to be able to expand the program to other Rolling Meadows schools.”
Accidental injuries are the number one health risk for children aged 14 and younger. Each year, more than 6,000 children are killed as a result of accidental injuries, and approximately 120,000 are permanently disabled. Many of these accidents are preventable, and teaching children how they can protect themselves is the goal of the Risk Watch program.
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