During this school year, our Firefighters took part in the science of fire education and our Prevention & Media Production Departments took part in the creation of a safety PSA.
Upon completion of curriculum, the students were broken into groups and had to come up with a topic to educate our public.  The students wrote thescenes, created the scenarios and then shot their PSA’s using the schools equipment.

One PSA was chosen from each hour and went on AJFD’s YouTube page for an American Idol style of voting.  The PSA that received the most likes won the opportunity to work
with us to re-create their video using our equipment and a realistic setting.

It was so awesome to create an important safety message for our district, while working with the youth in our community!  They were all a great bunch of young people, with great ideas.

Science Teacher, Regan Roach showed this PSA to the entire Cactus Canyon Junior High student body, faculty and parents and stated, “It was amazing! The kids were so excited. The entire audience gave them a standing ovation. It was fun! Thank you so much for all you guys did! I can’t wait to make it even better next year!”

Turn your volume up and enjoy.  Please share with everyone you know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db4dYjyLEK8

Like so many first fire departments in the far East Valley, Mr. Gomez has seen his share of drownings. Some have had happy outcomes. Some have not.

The drowning death May 15 in Glendale of a 17-month-old boy believed to have crawled outside through a built-in doggy-door to the backyard pool is a reminder that fatal accidents can happen anytime, anywhere to anyone. Between Jan. 1 and May 15 of this year in Maricopa and Pinal counties, there have been 36 water-related incidents, according to the website www.childrensafetyzone.com. Of those there were 12 deaths, including three children.

Children’s Safety Zone collaborates with local fire departments, hospitals and media to gather statistics and stories on water-related incidents and fatalities in Arizona.

During that time frame, the Queen Creek Fire Department responded to water-related pediatric calls (for ages 5 and younger) for two children. Rural/Metro Fire Department in Pinal County, which serves San Tan Valley, responded to one pediatric call. Mesa Fire Department has been the busiest this year, responding to three water-related calls — two pediatric calls and one for a child between 6-12 years. The Apache Junction Fire District, which serves AJ and Gold Canyon, has responded to two pediatric calls this year.

“That’s two too many,” Tina Gerola, the district’s public education coordinator, said in a phone interview last week. “Our target is zero.”

Drowning is the top cause of injury-related death for children across the United States, according to a press release from the Maricopa Fire Department about May being National Water Safety Month. More than 1,000 children drowned in 2006 nationwide, the release said. Arizona ranked second in the nation for child drownings. To reduce the number of water-related emergencies in San Tan Valley, RMFD acted as the driving force behind forming the San Tan Valley Public Safety Coalition last year. Its goal is to build a strong and safe community through ongoing events and safety campaigns, according to a story published Oct. 19 in the Independent.

“Rural/Metro started it with Southwest Ambulance, Air Evac, Banner Ironwood, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and the Johnson Ranch Homeowners Association,” Colin Williams, public information officer for RMFD, said during a phone interview last week. “We all come together for various events and public awareness campaigns, like the one held a month ago at the Circle K at Ironwood and Ocotillo.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about thinking about drowning prevention,” Mr. Williams continued. “People need to be super vigilant around children. There is no better supervision than direct eye supervision.”

read more:

http://arizona.newszap.com/eastvalley/122572-114/water-wise-east-valley-first-responders-share-life-saving-tips-and-experiences-working-water-related

A fire had been burning outside the home against the exterior wall to the bedroom where all six children were sleeping, Dwiggins said. Eventually, the window broke and smoke got inside the house, setting off the smoke detector. The alarm woke up the parents and they were able to get all the children, ages 12 and under, safely out of the house, he said.

One firefighter recognized the home from a smoke alarm walk the department did in October with the Arizona Burn Foundation in which volunteers went door to door installing free smoke detectors for homes that didn’t have one and replacing batteries in homes that did, Dwiggins said. The oldest daughter and Fire Department records confirmed volunteers had installed the smoke detector in the house.

The alarm likely saved the family’s lives, he said. “It was a brand new detector because we had just installed it,” Dwiggins said. “The first time that it started sensing smoke, it went off and boom, they were outside of the house.” Investigators still are trying to determine what caused the fire, he said.

There was significant smoke and water damage inside, as well as damage from the firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the blaze, Dwiggins said. The family was staying with relatives that lived nearby. The Fire Department has done several smoke alarm walks in recent years in partnership with the burn foundation, canvassing neighborhoods with homes that might not having smoke detectors, he said.

Having a working smoke alarm is important because the warning it gives residents is crucial to their ability to escape, Dwiggins said.

“A lot of people think that it’s the actual flames or the fire that is going to potentially kill them in a house fire, but it’s actually the smoke,” he said. “As the house starts to fill up with smoke, that smoke level eventually gets to where you’re at and you start to breathe in these toxic fumes and… your brain stops functioning like it should, you start to panic, and before you know it, getting out of your bed and out of your room becomes very difficult.”

Smoke alarms should be installed outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. They should be tested once a week, and the batteries replaced at least once a year.