Success Stories
Saved from Drowning
Fairbanks ten-year-old Christopher knew his sister, Jenni, shouldn’t go to the water alone. He’d just read about it in the Nobody Gets Hurt Week booklet that had come with the daily newspaper. “Use the buddy system,” it said. They were at a family picnic and eight-year-old Jenni had wandered down to the Chena River. Christopher noticed, and followed – Jenni needed a buddy.
The water was low. Jenni had walked into the riverbed to pick up driftwood and was sinking in the sandy silt. She’d sunk to her waist but Christopher got there in time to pull her out. When his mother praised him for his heroics, he said, “I had to, it was Nobody Gets Hurt Week, and besides, she’s my sister. I couldn’t let her get hurt.”
Out of A Burning House
Wasilla nine-year-old Charlie woke to find his bed and curtains blazing. Smoke was filling his room. Did he panic? No, he remembered lessons he’d learned two weeks before in Denali Safety Council’s fire and safety training: get out of the house.
He woke his parents and younger sister and told them they must leave the house immediately.
His mother called 911. No, Charlie told her, call 911 from the neighbor’s house. The 911 operator said the same thing: hang up and call from the neighbor’s.
Charlie’s mother grabbed the baby and they all left the house. Charlie’s dad then tried to fight the fire himself with a garden hose. No, Charlie told him, never go back inside a burning building.
These simple lessons Charlie learned saved five lives.
Learning Breakthrough
another trip through the Fire & Safety House
Teachers of Tommy, a Delta kindergartner, had been working to help him relate concepts of “fire” and “danger” for much of the school year. Tommy suffers from autism, a communication disorder that inhibits his ability to use language meaningfully and to process information from, or even feel part of, the outside world.
Tommy made four trips through the Prevention Adventures exhibit during its stay in Delta, each time more intrigued by what was being shown. Late in the day he ran into the school administrative office, pointed out the window to the Fire & Safety House, and said “Fire, smoke, danger!” It was a learning breakthrough, his teachers said. Tommy continues to make excellent progress.
Safety in Any Language
the USA Special Olympic Team to crawl to
the bedroom door and test it for heat
in the Fire & Safety House
We taught proper fire safety behavior in many languages to athletes of many countries at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Anchorage.
Interpreters traveling with each country’s delegation listened to our presentation piece by piece, then translated it into Korean, Spanish, German, or whatever the language of the group.
But it wasn’t just talking that told the story. Our interactive Fire & Safety House demonstration allows visitors to see and touch and smell and do. The lessons of preventing, responding to, and escaping from fire can be learned regardless of language.
Wheelchair Students Learn Too
Elementary in North Pole learn the basics
of home fire safety
Many people confined to wheelchairs can still live independently. We used our new wheelchair lift in Fairbanks to show these students simple safety principles.
At the direction of their regular teachers, we tailored the instruction specifically to the student’s abilities. We taught kitchen fire safety to those who could use the stove and would need to know proper precautions. We taught how to block smoke coming under a door to those who could leave their chairs and move about.
To all we taught the importance of calling or signaling for help in an emergency.
Safety is important to everyone. Simple survival techniques can be learned by anyone.