Preschoolers Learn Fire Safety Skills

Local Retired Fire Safety Instructor Visits Prescott YMCA Preschool

 “Are matches toys or tools?” asked Crystal Macary to the twenty eagerly listening 4-year olds of the Prescott YMCA preschool.

“Tools!” the children shouted in unison.

“Do we play with matches?” asked Macary.

“No!” said the children.

Macary, a retired Fire Safety teacher who worked with the Central Yavapai Fire District for 19 years, volunteered to come in to the Prescott YMCA preschool to teach the children about the difference between toys and adult-only tools, including fire materials.  To do this, she brought a box of various items, including dolls, matches, toy cars, and lighters to teach kids about what’s ok to play with- and what’s not.

Crystal Macary teaches the Prescott YMCA preschoolers that lighters are a tool, not a toy.

 







Macary said that the younger kids are taught about fire safety, the better. “Children who receive fire training between the ages of three and six are 86% less likely to commit a fire offense,” said Macary. That’s why she spent her entire career giving trainings like these. Macary also said that most young kids she talks to can tell her exactly where their parents ‘hide’ their matches or lighters. “Through these trainings, we’re giving kids the skills to ‘say no’ to playing with fire-related materials, and if they encounter these materials, to tell a grown-up so that they can put them up and away.”

Sara Komadina, Director of Prescott YMCA preschool, was glad to bring in Macary -who happens to be the mother of one of her preschool teachers- to talk to her students. Komadina said that learning fire safety skills is critical for all young kids, but is especially important for children in Arizona, where wildfires are a well-known reality. “With the recent fire tragedies, children in Prescott have seen the impact of fire first-hand,” said Komadina. “We hope that if children encounter dangerous materials in the future, the skills and knowledge we have instilled in them through this training can help prevent accidents later on.”

 

The Prescott YMCA preschool is committed to providing quality early education for young children, and participates in Quality First, a First Things First quality-improvement program for early learning programs. To learn more about the Prescott YMCA preschool, please visit prescottymca.org or call (928) 445-7221.