The Play Safe Be Safe workshop is coming to Barrie and is designed for those who interact with children regularly on how to teach everyone fire safety.
The campaign, which was developed by the BIC corporation, is aimed at daycare workers, ECE, teachers and kids in how to keep kids safe by using programs and ideas that they can easily learn. The president of Fireproof Children, Dr. Robert Cole, spoke to BarrieToday from his office in Rochester New York today and said that the idea is to get kids caring about fire safety while they are young so they will develop the skills and mindset to continue being cautious.
“Kids love to learn and when they do take something in, they tend to make sure to use what they’ve learned constantly,” said Cole. “I know from my own experiences with my children, when we decided to start recycling, they made sure we did it properly right down to the last detail; this is what we want kids to do with fire safety.”
The Play Safe Be Safe campaign has been running for 25 years, tours North America and will make a stop in Barrie on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Liberty North Banquet Hall at 100 Caplan Ave. Unit 1 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Cole said Barrie was an easy choice as not only have they been here before, but work closely with the local fire department to raise awareness.
“We were in Barrie years ago and are back because of the hard work of Samantha Hoffman (public fire and life safety officer) and the Barrie Fire Department,” said Cole. “The local dedication to fire safety and prevention is very encouraging in the city and we look forward to helping where we can.”
Teaching kids and educators how to prevent fires through a fun and interactive website as well as kits that include a DVD, colourful story cards, and activity boards are part of the program.
For more information and how to order kits, check out the website.
